Enthusia Professional Racing Cup Series Championship 2014
by DiddyKF1
Summary: Based off of the 2005 Konami PS2 game, 'Enthusia Professional Racing'. This fanfic revolves around my fantasy league of Professional Cup superstars as we race through a 21-event season from February to November. From the high-speed SPEEDIAPOLIS RING to the dangerous turns of the fearsome Nurburgring, the story of the 2014 EPC season will be one filled with high anticipations.
1. Introduction

Well, I thought I'd never plan a fanfic based on my 'Enthusia Professional Racing' video game-based fantasy league until now.

Just in case you have no idea what 'Enthusia Professional Racing' is, it is the only racing simulator game made by Konami. It was released in 2005 only for the PlayStation 2. Believe me, the game really does exist! If you don't believe me, then look it up on another site, such as Wikipedia or something.

Although the game was badly underrated, I still love the game, especially the epic soundtrack!

Anyways, with the option to do 200 laps in a single race on 'Free Racing' mode and the variable grid options, it all inspired me to create this fantasy league which was started back in 2007.

I'm not gonna write any from my previous seven seasons (2007-2013). It will all begin here in 2014.

NOTE: Every driver listed in the roster who isn't a video game character are all drivers whom I created myself (except for myself). Yes, I am on the fantasy league's roster myself, so there may be some points in which I'll be forced to share my own POV, but that doesn't mean it'll always just show you what I see. I'll have other prospective views as well.

* * *

INTRODUCTION

* * *

With several roster changes between the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, things could take a twist this year. Eleven participants for four different teams, twenty-one races in six different countries between February and November, one winner, ten losers, and most important of all, … one champion.

With there being four former series champions on the 2014 roster, along with five other veterans and two newcomers, not too much would be expected to change.

However, the biggest change this year is that Bowser Koopa, Jr. is no longer competing and SEGA ended up adding a fourth character to the roster, Shadow the Hedgehog.

Each and every one of the other three SEGA characters are in a different car than last year, and are expected to improve their results dramatically.

Nintendo only has Diddy Kong in the league this year after Koopa's departure. Therefore, he'll be more pressured than ever, given the fact that he is representing Nintendo … ALONE!

As the season was getting ready to kick off at the SPEEDIAPOLIS RING on February 16, the official rosters for 2014 looked like this:

Team #1

Nissan/Toyota Racing: The most dominant team in the sport, and the largest at four cars. They've won the championship every year since 2009 and are striving to win a sixth in a row this year.

Sonic the Hedgehog - #3 Toyota GT-one – Sonic is only just stepping into that car for the first time after he won the 2013 championship in the Toyota Supra. Sonic finished in the top five in every single race last year and is willing to keep his pace at a steady rate as he jumps into a car that has not won a single race in over two years. Sonic debuted at the final race of 2010. Sonic currently has seven wins total.

Diddy Kong - #23 XANAVI NISMO GT-R (Nissan) – The lone Nintendo representative this year and a two-time Professional Cup champion (2010 and 2011). Already with thirty total wins to his name going into 2014, Diddy is a top favorite to win his third championship. Diddy is entering his sixth full season, seventh overall.

Well, this next one just so happens to be … myself (DiddyKF1) - #32 NISSAN R390 GT1 – A three-time Professional Cup champion. I have already won the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 twice and I have also won at the Nürburgring four times! I have 47 total wins going into my eighth season.

Miles "Tails" Prower - #1 TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra – The newest member on the NTR lineup after Bowser, Jr. proved he could no longer perform well. Tails debuted in May 2011 and won twice last year in the McLaren F1.

Team #2

Honda/Mazda Racing – A Japanese team which fields one of the greatest champions in the sport's history and one of the most popular drivers from about a decade ago.

Al Reder, Jr. - #55 MAZDA 787B – A 39-year old seven-time Professional Cup champion, tying him with two other legends for the most all-time. He came from North Carolina. He made his debut at the final race of 1992 and has appeared in every race since. He has a total of 116 wins, some of those being undeserved. He has had a rough history of being an overaggressive driver.

Bob Stu, Jr. - #16 HONDA G'ZOX NSX – The only British driver in the series this year, at age 39. About ten years ago, he was the most popular driver in Enthusia. He is the son of the late Bob Stu, who won a record-tying seven championships in the eighties and nineties. Bob Junior debuted in 1999 and made it to full-time in 2000. He has 18 career wins.

Team #3

Audi/BMW Racing – The #1 team from Germany. A three-car team which often sports upcoming stars. Still, though, their pace is often nothing compared to the usually-dominant Nissans and Toyotas.

Knuckles the Echidna - #38 BMW McLaren F1 GTR – It may be a McLaren, but Enthusia marked it as a BMW since it has a BMW engine. Knuckles has only just joined this team this year. He is a two-time race winner and was the first SEGA character ever to score a fastest lap in a Professional Cup race. He previously drove for Mercedes.

Greg Richards - #5 AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003 – The 2013 Rookie of the Year. The 22-year-old comes from Las Vegas and has already proven himself to have the talent to compete with the big boys. His rookie season last year was quite impressive but he has not yet won a Professional Cup race.

Shadow the Hedgehog - #5 AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004 – The two Audis may seem identical, but they do have slight differences. Shadow becomes the fourth SEGA character ever to compete in the series this year. He is being picked as the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award this year.

Team #4

Mercedes-Benz/Opel Racing – The usually slowest team in the series, but they have shown some rare surprises from time to time.

Pedro Fernandes - #5 OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h – A 23-year-old from Brazil who was defeated by Greg Richards for Rookie of the Year in 2013. Out of all 2013 participants, Fernandes was the only one to not score a podium finish (top three).

Jean Dubois - #1 Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM – A 25-year-old newcomer from France. He will be Shadow the Hedgehog's rival for Rookie of the Year in 2014.

With the rosters looking just like that, it was difficult to pick a possible favorite to win this year's title, but almost anything could happen.

As February arrived, everyone would arrive at the SPEEDIAPOLIS RING with their nerves on edge as another season was about to begin.

Gentlemen, start your engines!


	2. Race 1: Speediapolis 500

It may seem crazy to put in some of the content in this chapter in my own POV, but WHAT ELSE WAS I GONNA DO!? I'm a participant myself so I'd pretty much have no choice.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter on the 2014 season opener.

* * *

ROUND 1

SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 – SPEEDIAPOLIS RING, U.S.A.

February 16, 2014

* * *

SEGA were already showing good pace for their chances of defending their 2013 title which came courtesy of Sonic himself. Tails Prower had won the exhibition shootout at SPEEDIAPOLIS on February 9 in his first-ever appearance for the Nissan/Toyota team. In the coming days, SEGA had all four of their participants post incredibly fast lap times, leaving Diddy Kong worried about how slow his pace was already proving to be.

However, on Wednesday, February 12, I would go on to be the fastest qualifier, as I drove my light blue Nissan around the 2.489 mile brick-shaped superspeedway in 45.151 seconds. Tails was the second-fastest, followed by Sonic, then Diddy Kong, putting all four Nissan/Toyota team cars in the top four grid slots. So, … I guess you could say that SEGA were still looking near-invincible.

In the qualifying duels on Thursday, I won the first duel while Diddy took the second one, showing that Nissan's potential had not been lost.

Come Sunday! The skies were completely gray. Clouds were everywhere and the outdoor temperatures were very cold, but there was no hint of snow falling anytime soon.

I had left the drivers' meeting that morning with many things on my mind, such as when Diddy Kong was going to be announced into the new Super Smash Bros. game. However, the biggest thing on my mind was the fact that the long wait to the start of the 2014 season was finally over! I felt like I couldn't wait to get in that Nissan and take off at 200 miles per hour around the SPEEDIAPOLIS RING.

Minutes before the race, I couldn't help but have a quick word with Diddy before we got strapped into our Nissans. There was something on my mind that morning that made me feel a lot of sympathy towards him, yet I almost didn't want to mention it to him.

"Hey," I said as I approached him next to his Nismo GT-R, "I wonder why the long face today?"

"Oh, I was just expecting that I'd be on the Smash roster at some point this week (Diddy had not been announced yet at that point) with my latest adventure with DK hitting the Japanese gaming market on Thursday, … but it didn't happen."

I placed a hand on his shoulder, "I still have my faith that they'll announce you eventually. Probably next week when it hits the market in the rest of the world."

Just as I finished my sentence, Diddy turned to face me and gave me a faint grin.

"I sure hope you're right, pal," he said.

"I'm pretty sure my prediction may be correct," I replied, "Now why don't we think about that some other time … and shift our focus to this race."

With that, we gave each other a high-five and a handshake, then I walked over to my car which was sitting at the front of the grid.

As I approached my car, my engineer walked up to me.

"We didn't touch a single component on this setup. It's been proven perfect all week and we're gonna keep it that way."

"Thanks," I said back to him, "We're gonna need that," and I opened the door and climbed into my car.

Within the next minute, I was strapped in and just about ready to see those grid lights go off.

I sat there, waiting in the last moments of anticipation before the command finally came:

"GENTLEMEN, … START … YOUR … ENGINES!"

I flipped the start switch and the engine right behind my cockpit burst into life. I cautiously pushed down on the gas pedal with my right foot to rev up the engine to ensure it would be warmed up and ready for 500 miles.

Moments later, I looked through my windshield and saw the safety car's lights turn on right in front of me. That meant that in just about a few seconds we were going to be doing a few warm-up laps behind the safety car.

Just the lights came on, the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette pace car peeled away from the start/finish line with myself being the first car to follow. Tails would follow me during the warm-up laps.

As the warm-up laps were taking place, the starting grid for the 56th SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 would look like this:

ROW 1

1. myself – NISSAN R390 GT1; 2. Miles "Tails" Prower – TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra

ROW 2

3. Sonic the Hedgehog – TOYOTA GT-one; 4. Diddy Kong – XANAVI NISMO GT-R

ROW 3

5. Greg Richards – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003; 6. Bob Stu, Jr. - HONDA G'ZOX NSX

ROW 4

7. Shadow the Hedgehog – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004; 8. Al Reder, Jr. - MAZDA 787B

ROW 5

9. Knuckles the Echidna – McLaren F1 GTR; 10. Pedro Fernandes – OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h

ROW 6

11. Jean Dubois – Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM

After three warm-up laps, the safety car turned towards the pit lane and I led the field back to our grid slots. As soon as the ten cars behind me were all lined up in their slots, we waited for a few more seconds before the lights above the start/finish line began to turn on.

This was it! 200 laps. 500 miles. Enthusia fans had waited all winter for this! The teams had worked for weeks to get ready for this prestigious event, and now it was time to see if all that work could pay off.

One light, two lights, three lights, four lights, five lights, … and finally they all turned off again, which meant only one thing: GO!

Immediately, I shifted into first gear and stomped on the gas pedal with every piece of strength my body had, and began to accelerate quickly going into the first corner.

I stayed in the lead for almost the whole first lap until Diddy Kong, whom had started fourth, was already up to speed and had passed Sonic and Tails, and was now right behind me.

I made no attempt to block Diddy, although he did give me a little bump draft to boost me before he eventually passed me for the lead before the end of the first lap. As Diddy crossed the start/finish line he had already just earned himself five bonus points counted towards the Professional Cup championship for leading a lap.

From there, Diddy refused to look back. He quickly zoomed off and I found myself in a battle for second place with Sonic, Tails, Greg Richards and Al Reder, Jr.. It wasn't long before Shadow showed up from nowhere and joined the second-place melee, but none of us were a match for challenging Diddy for the lead.

Diddy had just about pulled up a five-second gap to second place when the first round of pit stops took place around lap 40.

Diddy seemed to be a master with his fuel mileage, being the last to pit on lap 42. Even after his stop, he was still leading, but by then the rest of us had just about caught up with him.

Sonic, Shadow and I all got a chance to lead during the second quarter of the race, each winning five bonus points for leading at the start/finish line the first time we did so. However, Diddy was not about to let himself back off and fall out of the draft. After several more lead changes, Diddy made another one and began to lead for quite a while … again.

The remaining laps of the first half were relatively uneventful, even after the second round of pit stops, in which Diddy was again the last to pit and got out of the pits still with a comfortable lead.

Then, just after we hit the halfway point of the race, French debutant Jean Dubois had a run-in with the outside wall coming out of turn four, trashing the front of his Mercedes. The next thing I saw was that the yellow lights on the wire fences over the outside barriers were flashing, meaning that the officials were about to deploy the safety car and temporarily slow down the race.

Diddy Kong led us back to the start/finish line and reduced his speed once he had caught up behind the safety car. As the rest of us approached Diddy, we slammed our brakes and lined up single file behind him.

I took the opportunity to radio my engineer about wanting to alter my strategy for the second half. I was not happy with the way my car was performing during the first half and I desperately wanted to find a way to stay in the game. I was feeling pretty sure that my car's setup was a little bit tight in the exit of the corners. I had been having to jerk my steering wheel way off to the left like crazy just to get it to turn properly.

Unfortunately, nobody dared to pit under the caution, so I had to cope with oversteer for just a little while longer. As the safety car pulled back into the pits, the green flag came out and we were soon back up to speed in full racing conditions.

Diddy didn't keep his lead for long, though. Al Reder, Jr. soon charged his way through the pack like a rocket blasting by stars in space and was soon right behind Diddy.

On lap 117, Reder bumped the back of Diddy's car going into turn two. Diddy just about got a little bit sideways and was only just lucky enough to avoid spinning, but Reder dove to the inside lane and passed him for the lead. Diddy was not happy at all.

Reder had always been an occasional rule breaker during his career and even now with more than twenty years of experience, he would still try to knock others out of the way to gain another position.

Diddy tried to fight back, but Reder kept his speed up and was quickly running alone, leaving Diddy stuck in second place for now.

I soon caught up with Diddy and decided to tuck in behind his car and bump draft him down the straights to give him some extra speed. Sadly, this did nothing to help us catch Reder's Mazda.

Soon after, Diddy radioed me on his teammate communicator and claimed that he wanted to accuse Reder of cheating, which he had done in the past and had often gotten away with it, but Diddy was determined that Reder wouldn't get away with it this time.

Reder would keep running alone for quite a while.

On lap 123, I made my third pit stop and took the opportunity to tweak the setup that they claimed was perfect but proved not to be.

As soon as my fuel tank was filled to the max and I had four fresh tires fitted on my car, I peeled out and hoped that my handling problems were over. Sure enough, within a few laps, I was convinced that my car was now handling the way it properly should be, and I started posting very fast lap times, but Diddy still had the fastest lap of the race.

On lap 156, Pedro Fernandes made contact with Shadow the Hedgehog and went for a spin coming out of turn one while Shadow continued without any considerable damage done to his Audi. Fernandes recovered and got his yellow Opel running again, but the spin still triggered the caution lights, so we once again had to run behind the safety car.

Diddy felt very relieved that the safety car had come out. This would bunch the whole field again right behind Reder so everyone had a chance to go for the lead again.

Sonic and Tails were complaining about engine power issues with their Toyotas. However, everyone would be expected to pit under this caution. It would turn out to be the final pit stop of the day for everyone who was still running.

Reder led a ten-car snake down into the pit lane and everyone was over the wall and ready to perform their most important job of the day: the final pit stop that would be crucial for the closing laps.

As we approached our pit stalls, everyone went right to work. Last minute tweaks were made, the fuel tanks were filled up and the tires were changed one last time.

Diddy's crew was the fastest and got Nintendo's young Kong Country hero out of the pits back in the lead. I came out second, followed by Tails in third and Sonic in fourth. Reder came out fifth, losing four positions.

However, when the green flag came back out on lap 160, Reder was back into second place within about thirty seconds. He bumped me out of the way to steal second place back. I felt my heart pounding like crazy as I struggled to keep the car straight after Reder bumped me, but I was able to prevent myself from slowing down too much and risk dropping out of the lead draft, but I could feel all of my blood being turned into adrenaline. I felt so unhappy with Reder's behavior and wanted to knock the orange and green Mazda out of my sight, but he kept going and began to chase Diddy again.

Fifteen laps later, Reder knocked Diddy out of the way again and recaptured the lead.

At that moment, Diddy had had enough! Remembering those rough times in the nineties when Reder had a vicious rivalry with Donkey Kong, in which DK was almost always the victim during the 1995-1998 period, Diddy was determined to prove to his family once again that the Kong family name could still fight back against the North Carolinian superstar.

On the very next lap, as we came out of turn four, Diddy approached Reder and gave him a small tap on his left rear fender. I watched Reder's car veer sideways towards the left and head towards the inside retaining wall that separated the track surface from the pit lane. Reder's Mazda smacked the wall hard and slid back up the track into the outside wall towards the grandstands.

As I was about to approach Reder's wrecked car, I jerked my steering wheel to the left and just about blended right down to the retaining wall without making contact with it. As I passed the stricken Mazda, I had just about escaped being smacked in the driver's side door (right side).

The other cars running behind me also made a narrow escape from a possible near-fatal collision with the Mazda. Some of them had to jerk their steering wheels in a panic state to avoid crashing into Reder's wrecked car.

As for Reder's rivalry with the Kongs (only DK and Diddy have ever competed with him), Diddy had once again prevailed and Reder was left with a wrecked car. The Kong family name had taken him down once again, although Diddy had now done it many more times than DK had been able to.

The safety car was on the track just a moment later with Diddy Kong as the race leader again and me running in second place. Shadow was running in third just ahead of Sonic, Tails, Greg Richards and Knuckles. Bob Stu, Jr. had eighth place with Pedro Fernandes in ninth.

At this point, nine cars were still running, and with just over twenty laps to go by the time the race restarted again, it looked as if it would be down to the top seven to settle the score as Stu and Fernandes quickly proved too slow the keep up in the draft.

However, just ten laps later, the caution came out again. I had no idea why they would be deploying the safety car in a situation like this! This was supposed to be the run to the finish.

I eventually got a reply from my engineer informing me that there was a piece of debris on the track, somewhere in turn one. I could only have guessed that it may have been from Fernandes' earlier spin, but it could also have been from casual contact between two other cars rubbing against each other at some point during the race. Still, though, I had no idea how that piece of debris ended up there, but the race officials wanted it removed now so as to improve safety and take down the risk of someone cutting a tire to shreds.

Eventually, the debris was removed, and the green flag flew once more. There were now seven laps to go, and Diddy Kong still led.

I stayed right behind my Nissan teammate until lap 196 when Shadow sneaked his Audi right under me in turn four and overtook me by surprise to take second place. I was not expecting him to do something like that, given that he was only a rookie. He never had any experience in the series until today.

Not so long afterward, Sonic slipped by for third place in turn three on the next lap. It soon became quite apparent that I was not going to be able to win my third SPEEDIAPOLIS 500.

I soon found myself just ahead of Tails and Knuckles, and we were locked in a battle for fourth place. Diddy was also in for a final battle. Shadow and Sonic quickly caught up with him after taking me out of his draft.

It would come down to those three to settle it for the 2014 SPEEDIAPOLIS 500.

Throughout the final five laps, Diddy kept his foot on the gas and blocked each and every move that Shadow made in his attempt to become the first rookie to win the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500. Sonic stayed put in third place, deciding that it would be best to help a teammate win, but he would have to get by Shadow first.

Meanwhile, I was still holding off Tails and Knuckles in my deepest efforts to keep fourth place and the 405 points that would come with it. I never let my right foot off that gas pedal. I may not have had a chance to win it anymore, but I still wanted to rack up as many points as possible.

Diddy had his chance to get the maximum amount of points possible: 560. That included the 550 points for first place plus ten bonus points for leading the most laps during the race.

After about two more minutes, the white flag was seen waving over the start/finish line, meaning that the 200th and final lap was about to begin!

Diddy was still holding off Shadow and Sonic. As they came out of turn two, Shadow made one last attempt to take the win away from the former Nintendo champion, but as he was approaching the dark red and gray Nissan Skyline GT-R, Diddy swerved into his lane and Shadow found himself looking at nothing but the back of Diddy's #23.

Down the back stretch, Diddy had Shadow looking as if he was pushing him down the straight, although it was really Diddy blocking him to prevent him from getting by. He wanted to win the 500 just as bad as anyone else could, even though he had already won it once.

Into turn three they went for the final time, and Diddy tackled the last two turns faster than Shadow, and he pulled away from the dark silver Audi.

As soon as Diddy was out of the last turn, the butterflies in his stomach were just about going away. He knew he was going to do it. He could see that checkered flag before his engineer even told him it was there! He could feel some happiness coming to him.

The next thing that everyone would say was:

"DIDDY KONG WINS THE SPEEDIAPOLIS 500!"

Sure enough, Diddy crossed the line and won his second SPEEDIAPOLIS 500! Shadow crossed the line only a second and a half later, followed closely by Sonic in third.

While the top three cars crossed the line, I still had to keep Tails and Knuckles behind me as they were still trying to take that fourth position away from me. Once I got out of turn four and could see the end of this race coming, I let out a sigh while, at the same time, keeping an eye on my mirror in case one of those two SEGA stars behind me (one of which was a teammate, ironically) would dare make a move on me. They didn't, and I crossed the line with a fourth place finish while Tails took the last top five slot with Knuckles coming in sixth.

Greg Richards finished seventh with Bob Stu, Jr., eighth, and Pedro Fernandes, the ninth and last car across the line.

My engineer seemed to be impressed with a fourth place finish, knowing that its never easy racing at SPEEDIAPOLIS.

"405 points in the bag. That should be a good start to the season," my engineer radioed me.

I could only feel like saying, "Hey, … it's only the beginning of the year. It may count now, but it will count even more, come the later times."

At that moment, the next thing I heard was my engineer telling me that Diddy had won the race. That put a smile on my face. My most-trusted teammate and best racing ally had succeeded again.

This was the second time that Diddy Kong had won the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500. He became the first video game character ever to win the race more than once, and he succeeded me as the youngest-ever repeat-winner of the 500.

As the cool-down lap began, Diddy was going absolutely crazy! As he was driving his victory lap, he gave out a bunch of loud cheers in his radio and monkeyed around a bit in his car while he was still moving at about 100 miles per hour!

As I drove past Sonic and Shadow during the cool-down lap, I could see Diddy's car ahead with a rolled down window and a fist sticking out of it. I could tell right away that it was him going wacky in celebration. I pulled up alongside him and waved a hand at him to congratulate him for his victory. I looked through his window and saw him give me a thumbs up in return! Friends will be friends!

As Tails and I were about to pull our cars back into our team's garage, we stopped on pit road by the start/finish line to watch Diddy do his victory donuts, which he followed with a burnout show! Smoke came bursting from his tires and from behind his car and flew everywhere.

Tails and I eventually parked our cars in the garage, as did four other drivers.

Shadow and Sonic parked their cars in parc ferme, where the top three finishers would go. They were soon joined by Diddy.

I got out of my car with a lot of sweat pouring out of me. I looked around the garage, and the nearest bottle of water I could see, I grabbed it and drank the whole thing down in about a minute!

Shortly afterward, Tails and I walked out into the open pit area and made a run down the pit lane to watch the podium ceremonies. A bunch of guys from our pit crews also came to join us.

Thousands of people had the whole place filled up. They were waiting anxiously to see Diddy, Shadow and Sonic appear on the podium stage and take those three steps that only the top three race finishers would have the honor of celebrating on.

Within five minutes, we heard the sound of about a hundred thousand people cheering as loud as they could as Sonic appeared from behind the stage and took the right side step with the number three on it for finishing in third place. He was quickly joined by Shadow who took the step on the left with the number two on it for second place.

Then came the one whom everyone was waiting for: Diddy Kong!

Diddy ran up to the stage and did some of his trademark acrobatic jumps in celebration and waved to everyone in the crowd in a friendly salute before he took the higher step right in the middle of the stage with the number one on it.

The three drivers were joined by a senior representative of the Nissan/Toyota team along with special political icons of America.

The Japanese national anthem played (once only) for both Nintendo (the winning company, therefore counting as the winning nationality in some record books) and Nissan/Toyota Racing (the winning team).

In the moments that followed, we watched Diddy receive his winner's trophy, our senior team member receive the team's trophy, Shadow receive his second-place trophy and Sonic receive the third-place trophy.

This was followed by a symbolic tradition in the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 (as is also the case at Indianapolis), the Winner's Quart of Milk!

An member of the Board of Enthusia walked up to the stage and handed Diddy the quart of milk. We were expecting him to simply open it and pour it down his throat immediately, but on this day he seemed to take a little more time than he did four years ago when he first won this race. Perhaps, he was trying to fight off some sweat.

This seemed to give Shadow and Sonic just enough time to find a way to keep the celebrations going fast.

As Diddy was wiping the sweat off his wet face with one hand, Sonic grasped the milk from Diddy's other hand while Shadow reached over and removed the cap from the quart-sized carton. Then, they each grabbed one of Diddy's shoulders and, with one big lift, they lifted the milk over Diddy's face. The milk poured out of the carton and down Diddy's throat as it should.

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the two hedgehogs pinning Diddy's arms down and forcing the milk into his face like that. It was even the first time I had ever seen Shadow in such a mood like that, too, something I never thought I'd see in my life! In all of the madness going on down on pit road, I could hear others laughing, too.

I could only imagine if a picture like that would be symbolic of something between Nintendo and SEGA. I knew only one thing, Nintendo would celebrate while SEGA would just be a part of it and contemplate on the next race. Perhaps, the next time Diddy and Sonic saw each other at the so-called Smash Mansion, they'd be receiving a lot of attention for what happened here at SPEEDIAPOLIS, particularly this moment with Sonic and Shadow shoving the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 Winner's Quart of Milk down Diddy's throat and all over his face while on the big podium stage!

Once the two hedgehogs had poured all of the milk down Diddy's throat, they finally let go of his arms and set the empty carton down on the stage floor. Diddy wiped the milk off his messy face and let out a little laugh at the hedgehogs' milk gag.

After a few more minutes of celebrating on the podium, the three video game characters stepped off the three steps and left the stage, each carrying their trophies with them.

Tails and I scooted out of the pit lane madness and sneaked back into the more quiet garage environment where our team was celebrating Diddy's win.

The moment we walked in, however, there were a couple of guys with microphones and some walking cameramen. It could only mean one thing: the media!

Oh, how hard it is to handle post-race interviews can be quite cruel, but I'd been in the series through seven previous seasons already, so I knew how to handle the press!

Tails and I were interviewed side-by-side so the media could speed up the process. This gave me a chance to hear what the young fox had to say about his first race with our team. Just as he finished, I pointed my finger to him and said, "This kid's got potential," before giving him a pat in the back while the camera was still on us. Surely, at that moment the television viewers got to see how much I'd soon find this pal of Sonic's to be a very reliable teammate.

As soon as the media was out of our faces, we waited for Diddy and Sonic to come back from their post-race interviews in the podium press room. Some of our crew members were watching them and Shadow on the television broadcast, so Tails and I joined in with them.

It took them about seven minutes for the three to answer every question the media answered before they finally let them out.

Tails and I, along with a few crew members, strolled past the back of the garage and into the paddock area to look for Diddy and Sonic.

We eventually found them with their first-place and third-place trophies in hand.

The next thing I saw was Donkey Kong running up to Diddy and scooping him up in his arms. He hugged him tightly and congratulated him for his win.

"C'mon, now. Give your little nephew some space!" said Sonic.

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'm not gonna drop this trophy," replied Diddy, knowing what his acrobatics made him capable of.

DK carefully let Diddy back on his feet.

"Say, uh, … why don't we put this trophy in our paddock room for now," said Diddy to DK.

"Good idea, little buddy," replied DK, "I can't wait when we bring that trophy home tonight!"

Diddy let out another victory scream as he made his way to his paddock room.

I turned to see Sonic approach me and offer me a high-five for a great finish. I laid my hand out in front of me and Sonic gave it a slap.

"Your first race in that red machine and you get a podium finish. You really do have an unbreakable potential," I commented.

"Pretty words from a team captain," replied Sonic, "You had a good run yourself, too."

"True, but … not quite as well as I normally would run here," I said.

At that moment, Tails walked up from behind me and joined the conversation.

"Just one race, and the whole team's already got over 1,500 points!" he said.

"Believe me, we've done that before," I commented.

"I know that, but … considering the pace we had today, … I think there's room for a few tweaks in the some of the setup packages."

I couldn't keep myself from grinning at Tails' comment.

"Now there's another reason why we chose you to replace Junior," I said to him, "You can tell when it's time for the guys to update the packages. It somehow amazes me that after just one race with us, you can already tell when we're gonna need it. That could really be a big help to just about everyone involved with the team."

Tails grinned back at me, "I guess you couldn't have said it any better."

"I told you he's got some potential in him," said Sonic, "His technical knowledge is gonna make this team better than what it already is."

I couldn't agree more with Sonic's words.

"Well, … can't wait for March to begin, then, huh?" I said.

"Me neither," said Tails.

At that moment, I was remembering something else, something that had to do with Diddy Kong, even something that Sonic might know about. I turned back to the blue hedgehog.

"Say, … uh, … I've been noticing Diddy's mood off the track lately really hasn't been very bright. He says he's tired of waiting to be announced into the roster for the upcoming Super Smash Bros. tournaments. I was wondering, since you made it in, if you'd have any idea if it might happen or not?"

Sonic tapped his foot several times, seeming as if he was trying to think of something to say.

"Listen, uh, … don't tell Diddy about this, … but … as far as I understand it, … it's very possible he might make it in this upcoming week."

I didn't feel 100% sure, but I wanted to believe that Diddy would soon be in.

The bottom line was that, for now Diddy could keep a smile on his face for at least a few days, given that he had just won the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 again.

It was proven just five days later that Sonic's prediction was correct, as on Friday, February 21, on the day of the American/European release of "Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze", Diddy was indeed announced into the new SSB roster, much to my relief, and his.

After one race out of twenty-one, the points looked like this:

Diddy Kong – 560 points

Shadow the Hedgehog – 505 points

Sonic the Hedgehog – 455 points

myself – 405 points

Miles "Tails" Prower – 350 points

Knuckles the Echidna – 300 points

Greg Richards – 250 points

Bob Stu, Jr. - 200 points

Pedro Fernandes – 150 points

Al Reder, Jr. - 105 points

Jean Dubois – 50 points

With Diddy Kong celebrating a SPEEDIAPOLIS win, he was already proving to be a favorite to win his badly-wanted third championship.

Coming up in chapter 3, the Professional Cup Series heads to the streets in the capital of England as the 400-mile VICTORIA race would truly wear the drivers out in the first step of March's march.


	3. Race 2: Victoria 400

ROUND 2

VICTORIA 400 – VICTORIA ROAD – London, England

March 2, 2014

* * *

Ah, yes. The streets of London can be filled with many surprises: the Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc., and yes, we were to race on the public streets of London, with public transportation temporarily closed off for the construction of the artificial removable barriers, stands, pits and all that.

Even for a temporary street circuit, it can still look like a track in every way.

People living in apartments on the nearby circular street would often peak out from windows of the higher floors and look down at us tearing through on the public road. I often claimed to have seen camera flashes coming from the higher floors!

A tunnel is also featured, as well as the sight of a Ferris wheel near the area where the Big Ben can be seen!

Man, they did a good job picking the streets to run this circuit on!

The circuit was given the name, "VICTORIA ROAD". I would assume it was named after Queen Victoria.

Our British fans seemed very heartwarming when the first day of practice arrived on Thursday, February 27.

As I was walking through the paddock and towards the garage that morning, a bunch of British Nissan fans walked over to me and asked me if I could give them my autograph. I said, "Sure," and began to rush through the autographs on my way to the garage.

One guy in particular gave me two pennies.

"These are your lucky pennies," the fan said, "Hope they work their magic."

"Why would I need two of them, though?" I asked him.

"One's for you and one's for your dear friend."

"You mean Diddy Kong?"

"Precisely!" he said with delight, "I'm a true Nissan fan and would love to see you finish 1-2!"

"We'll have to see, though. There's no guarantees," I said, and soon I was finally at the door to the garage.

I sneaked past the last of the fans and rushed inside to see how the rest of my team was doing.

Diddy was in big smiles today.

"Hey! I hear you finally got announced into the Super Smash Bros. tournaments!" I said to Diddy.

"YES, I HAVE! I HAVEN'T FELT THIS HAPPY SINCE FOREVER AGO!" said Diddy in such happiness.

It had been quite a while since I last saw Diddy with such a big smile on his face. It seemed to me like nothing could tear his happiness apart, even regardless if he won or lost this race on Sunday.

It seemed that some of our luck was already coming to us as I was the fastest during this Thursday session.

The following day, the end of February, Diddy Kong took his first pole position of the season with a qualifying lap time of 1:15.629. I came in right behind him at 1:15.921, securing an all-Nissan front row!

After qualifying was over, Diddy and I did a high-five in the garage in delight. He seemed to be smiling even more.

"I think we've got luck on our side," he whispered to me in a semi-singing tone, "Especially with these lucky pennies!"

"I couldn't agree more with you, pal," I replied, putting an arm around his back, "I think this one may be ours."

At that moment, we couldn't help but play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. Diddy won.

Two days later, the skies were gray again, and the temperatures were around 50°F. The forecast was predicting rain at some point during the race. This race was going to last at least more than five hours.

This race was to go for 200 laps around the 2.033 mile VICTORIA ROAD circuit. That added up to 406.6 miles on a track in which the fastest lap times would always be above one minute and ten seconds.

With Diddy starting on top and me starting beside him on the front row, I was thinking about how I could help Diddy stay up front for the opening laps.

As soon as we fired up our engines and the warm-up laps were done, I sat there in that second grid slot, contemplating on what I had in mind to keep Diddy in front.

This was the starting grid:

ROW 1

1. Diddy Kong – XANAVI NISMO GT-R; 2. myself – NISSAN R390 GT1

ROW 2

3. Shadow the Hedgehog – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004; 4. Sonic the Hedgehog – TOYOTA GT-one

ROW 3

5. Greg Richards – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003; 6. Miles "Tails" Prower – TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra

ROW 4

7. Al Reder, Jr. - MAZDA 787B; 8. Bob Stu, Jr. - HONDA G'ZOX NSX

ROW 5

9. Knuckles the Echidna – McLaren F1 GTR; 10. Jean Dubois – Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM

ROW 6

11. Pedro Fernandes – OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h

As the grid lights went off, Diddy, sure enough, accelerated quickly, and so did I. I swerved leftward into Diddy's slipstream and gave him a slight bump in the back going into the first turn. Diddy seemed to have been boosted slightly by my bump draft and, needless to say, he kept his lead, thanks to my help. My plan had worked out!

As the first thirty-nine laps went by, I stayed in second running right behind my highly-trusted partner.

During the thirty-fifth lap, Pedro Fernandes appeared to have had an accident, as we saw his car stopped in sector four during the next lap. It was later stated that he had locked up his brakes and lost control of his car going into a very difficult corner. His Opel Astra spun around and smacked the wall hard. His race was over.

The safety car came out for three laps while the yellow Opel was cleared from where it crashed.

On the restart on lap 40, Diddy was a bit slower than me, which allowed me to overtake him for the lead going into turn one.

Eleven laps later, Diddy and I were in the pits for the first time in the race. As our crews completed the tire changing and refueling service flawlessly, I was still leading with Diddy in tow.

Al Reder, Jr. was soon on the charge, along with Shadow and Sonic. Diddy quickly found himself in a slug-fest for second place.

This slug-fest lasted for about twenty laps until, on lap 64, Bob Stu, Jr.'s engine let go and left a small oil slick in sector five towards the pit entrance. The safety car had to be deployed again.

The oil was quickly cleared and after another three laps, the safety car peeled back into the pits with me still leading and Diddy in second followed by a bunch of hungry drivers running from third place downwards.

As soon as the halfway point approached, so did the second round of pit stops. Diddy and I pitted on lap 102 and came out still first and second, but Diddy had moved back into the lead.

It was my turn to be in a slug-fest for second place. It took only ten laps to see how harsh the slug-fest was going to be.

On lap 113, Al Reder, Jr. bumped me in sector four. I felt a small vibration coming from the bump and realized my car was going sideways towards the left side wall!

I jerked the steering wheel to the right only to realize that Reder was also sliding, still against the left side of my car.

This was to take us both out!

I was simply a passenger now, as my car slammed hard into the wall and spun around several times before coming to a complete stop.

"Whoa, … are you okay?" I heard my engineer ask me on my radio.

I opened my eyes soon after I stopped and noticed how much damage the front of my car had taken. It seemed that Reder had us both taken out of the race …

… or did he?

I wrestled the gear lever into reverse gear and, surprisingly, my car was still running!

I reversed away from the wall and shifted back to first gear.

"IT'S STILL GOING! MY CAR'S STILL ALIVE! I'M STILL MOVING UNDER MY OWN POWER!" I yelled to my engineer.

I looked in my mirror and noticed that Reder was not moving. He seemed to have only taken himself out of the race in his attempt to take me out!

"THAT IDIOT GOT WHAT HE DESERVED TODAY!" I yelled.

"Can you make it back to the pits?" my engineer asked me.

"Yes! I think we can get a spare front end on this thing!" I answered.

"We've got a spare front end ready to be installed. Bring it in and we'll get it repaired as quickly as we can so we can stay on the lead lap if possible."

Sure enough, as the safety car was coming out, I ducked into the pits and stopped at my stall.

The crew went right to work on removing the battered front end from my car and quickly putting on the new one. The tires were also changed for extra precautions.

Within less than a minute, I peeled out of the pits with a front end that looked as good as new! Better still, I was still on the lead lap, so I could still stay in the game!

"YES! WELL DONE, GUYS! THEY WON'T BE COUNTING US OUT FOR NOW!" my engineer yelled on the radio.

I felt so relieved about staying on the lead lap, but with seven cars ahead of me, it was going to be quite a traffic jam once we took the restart.

After Reder's Mazda was cleared away from sector four, the green flag waved again on lap 116 with Diddy still up front.

I quickly passed Jean Dubois' Mercedes going into turn one, then a few corners later, passed Greg Richards for sixth. Then, it was just video game characters ahead of me in the top five.

Sonic and Shadow took the fight to Diddy for the lead while I spent a couple of laps behind Tails and Knuckles.

Tails soon slowed down and let me past, back into the top five, and began to hold up Richards.

I didn't make it ahead of Knuckles' BMW-powered McLaren until the third and (what should have been) final round of pit stops around lap 150.

Moments after the third pit stop, I saw some drops of liquid on my windshield, plus more on my side windows. More and more came down, which meant only one thing …

RAIN!

It had started to rain!

My engineer was quickly urging the crew to get some wet-weather tires ready, as we would gradually be in desperate need of them.

That time came much sooner than any of us thought, when it quickly began to rain harder and the track surface became very wet.

I turned my windshield wiper on to increase my visibility.

At this point, I was running in fourth behind Diddy, Shadow and Sonic, and in front of Knuckles and Tails.

On lap 154, we all pitted to get rid of the useless slick tires and apply the wet tires.

Diddy kept his lead coming out of the pits.

From there, Diddy, Sonic, Shadow and (at one point) Knuckles exchanged the lead, but I got no part of it.

Then, towards the end of lap 184, I heard a small explosion come from under my cockpit, and the front of my car seemed to suddenly face slightly downwards. As I turned my steering wheel, my car did not turn at all. I went straight into the left-side wall with a bang and into another wall with a brush.

My front suspension had collapsed! My day was over! My lucky penny had not done its magic for me!

My car came to a stop against the left side wall and would not be able to make it back to the pits without any steering.

The yellow lights flashed above me, indicating the safety car would come out so that my car would get a tow.

"Oh, well. We'll get them in the next round in Tokyo," my engineer radioed me with a sigh. He seemed so disappointed.

I felt so discouraged. Why would this happen to me? It felt more discouraging for it to happen on a rainy day. Perhaps the rain had washed away the magic. I'm not sure.

Perhaps, the damage done due to my collision with Reder earlier on had gradually effected my front suspension over time before it finally collapsed, ending my race for good.

I undid my seat belt, took my gloves off and stuck them into my pocket, opened the door and stepped out of my car and into some rain sprinkles.

I quickly sprinted across the race track to the right side where the pit area's side would be.

A nearby track marshal was there, and he guided me on which way to go to head back to the pits.

I made a long walk from where my car was stranded (such a sad sight) back to the Nissan/Toyota Racing team garage in the pits. My walk seemed to last forever out in the light rain showers. What would become of my current points position? I was surely to lose at least a few places going into the next round in Tokyo, which would be coming up in two weeks. All I could think about for now was Diddy's luck in his battle with the SEGA squad.

As I made it back to the garage, some crew members patted me on the back and simply said, "We'll have better reliability in the next round."

"It's our home country next," said another, "That will be an advantage."

"I hope," I said unenthusiastically.

I could only watch the rest of this race from the garage. There were some television monitors in the garage that allows team members to view the public television broadcast.

The rain seemed to have stopped as I walked in. I also noticed the other crews pulling out some intermediate tires and rolling them towards the open pit area.

I heard the engines of the remaining cars approach us and drive into their stalls to have the intermediate tires fitted on.

Shortly after they were out of sight, I noticed a tow truck approach our garage. In tow was my wrecked car.

The track crews removed the tow hook from my car, and the Nissan R390 GT1 was rolled back in.

My crew opened the front of the car and began to inspect the front suspension to determine why it collapsed.

Two minutes later, the green flag was waving and Diddy led the SEGA squad, along with Richards and Jean Dubois into turn one.

Once again, the SEGA squad exchanged the lead with Diddy several more times during the closing laps, but Sonic seemed to have led the most during this final period.

The track was drying slowly but surely, but nobody decided to pit in for slick tires.

As the last lap began, Diddy led Sonic by about half of a second. Shadow was running third. Knuckles and Tails were in a heated battle for fourth place.

It looked like the same three guys that had finished on the podium in the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 were all about to finish on the podium again!

My heart was pounding for Diddy to beat the SEGA squad. If he could do it at SPEEDIAPOLIS, surely he could do it here, even if he wasn't the best wet-weather driver in the world.

Going into the final sector, Knuckles and Tails had caught up with Sonic and Shadow, and it looked like Diddy had a complete squad of SEGA characters, all aiming for him!

Two of those SEGA characters may be our Toyota teammates, but it didn't seem to be much of a difference!

As the five characters turned into the final left-hand corner towards the checkered flag, Diddy appeared to have slower acceleration than the SEGA squad. His rear wheels appeared to be spinning much faster than his front wheels.

I knew right then that Diddy was having some trouble trying to accelerate his car back up to speed.

The SEGA squad took it to their advantage.

Sonic pulled alongside Diddy's left, and Shadow pulled alongside to the right of Diddy's Nissan.

Knuckles and Tails stayed behind to each bump-draft a teammate: Tails pushed Sonic, and Knuckles pushed Shadow.

Both seemed to also be pushing Diddy, too, as he was right in the middle, the Nintendo meat of a SEGA sandwich!

As they aproached the line, only Sonic, Shadow or Diddy could possibly have the edge!

As they came across, Sonic and Shadow both seemed to have their front ends a few inches ahead of Diddy's front end, but also Sonic was slightly ahead of Shadow.

Therefore …

IT'S SONIC! SONIC THE HEDGEHOG WINS THE VICTORIA 400! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE FINISH! UUNNBBEELLIIEEVVEEAABBLLEE! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IS SECOND, DIDDY KONG IS THIRD, KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA FOURTH, AND TAILS PROWER FIFTH! I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY SUCH FINISH LIKE THIS BEFORE! WHAT A FINISH! WWHHAATT AA FFIINNIISSHH!

Surely, that British announcer must have been out of his mind!

Yes, Sonic the Hedgehog was the winner! The Toyota GT-one had won a race for the first time since November 2011 when Bowser, Jr. was still driving that red machine. This was Sonic's eighth career win, and his first since becoming Professional Cup champion last November. It was only his second race in that car, and he won it in front of the wildest British crowd Enthusia had had in quite a while.

The margin of victory looked like this:

1. Sonic the Hedgehog – 5:12:20.719

2. Shadow the Hedgehog - +0.005

3. Diddy Kong - +0.034

Those three were that close together, nobody knew who won until they were well past the finish line!

Nissan/Toyota Racing made it two wins out of two races in 2014, something we do quite commonly, and the same three guys who were on the podium at SPEEDIAPOLIS would now be on the podium AGAIN! It was the SPEEDIAPOLIS 500 top three in reverse!

I decided to stay in the garage and watch the podium ceremonies on the big TV screen. I was in no mood to jump out there into a noisy crowd.

Sonic came out first and raised his fists in happiness before he took the top step in the middle of the podium stage. Shadow came out and took the left #2 step, and Diddy followed and took the #3 step on the right. A senior member of Nissan/Toyota Racing also came out.

Once again, only the Japanese national anthem was played, for SEGA and for Nissan/Toyota Racing.

Soon after, the three drivers and our representing senior team member were handed trophies by the chosen political figures of England.

Then, the three drivers began pouring champagne all over the crowd and each other. At one point, Sonic and Shadow sprayed a lot of their champagne all over Diddy. The little monkey once again got to have some celebratory fun with those two hedgehogs.

Then, Sonic snapped a finger towards the left end of the stage, and Knuckles and Tails suddenly ran up and joined in the celebration.

Then, they all jumped back onto the steps and each of the SEGA characters poured even more champagne on Diddy! Even our senior member couldn't help but do the same!

Diddy was surely a mess by now!

Then, they all waved to the enormous British crowd, whom had come from various parts of the United Kingdom to watch this fantastic ending.

That moment seemed like a pretty picture on the podium with Diddy and all four of the SEGA characters giving thumbs up, with Diddy right in the middle.

Man, it seemed like Diddy was going to have an intense battle with SEGA this year. I could imagine characters in the Smash Mansion going absolutely crazy right now, watching that finish and this podium celebration!

As for me, well, it turned out that Reder's collision had indeed caused my front suspension to gradually fail and collapse altogether towards the end of the race. It was not a good result for me, but our team still had something to look forward to: the next race being in our home country, and also celebrations for Sonic's victory.

Two races into the season, and the point standings now looked like this:

1. Diddy Kong – 1,020 points

2(t). Sonic the Hedgehog – 1,010 points

(t) Shadow the Hedgehog – 1,010 points

4(t). Knuckles the Echidna – 705 points

(t) Miles "Tails" Prower – 705 points

6. myself – 610 points

7. Greg Richards – 550 points

8(t). Bob Stu, Jr. - 300 points

(t) Jean Dubois – 300 points

10. Al Reder, Jr. - 255 points

11. Pedro Fernandes – 200 points

Two races, two wins for Nissan/Toyota Racing. One for Nintendo and one for SEGA. 2014 seemed to already be promising an intense championship battle.

Next up, Enthusia heads to its home country to bring its top division into the highway road course of Tokyo.


	4. Race 3: Konami 360

ROUND 3

KONAMI 360 – REV CITY – Tokyo, Japan

March 16, 2014

* * *

"Welcome to Japan!"

That always lovely greeting of the very friendly citizens of that country whenever we arrived there via private flights have always been so heartwarming to us! We may be racing in Japan six times a year, but that doesn't stop us from occasionally feeling like first-timers whenever we go there.

The REV CITY street course goes through a small area of one of the busy city sections of Tokyo. Part of the course even goes through a small section of highway before descending back down again into the city area. The course is 1.78 miles long, and with the 200-lap distance here, the race distance is 356 miles. That's usually talking about a race that lasts just over four hours.

Of course, I enjoy racing on temporarily-closed city streets! There's nothing like a weekend-long stay in the wonderful hotels they have in Tokyo, and the racing action really excites the fans!

For Nissan/Toyota Racing, this course has had a special place in our heart for more than three years now. It was on this course where we sadly lost one of our dear friends back in 2010 during a race. Hattori Suzuki's fatal accident during the November 7, 2010 race was dreadful, and Diddy Kong was in tears for several weeks about it, considering that it happened just before the last race of the season, and because of many other reasons from what was going on at the time for the little monkey, such as the time when 'Donkey Kong Country Returns' was coming out. It was at the end of that year when Diddy decided that he would take the wheel of Hattori's former ride, the XANAVI NISMO GT-R, which Diddy still drives today.

Since the beginning of 2012, Diddy Kong has dominated at REV CITY, winning both 2012 races and both 2013 races. Now, he had a shot at winning five REV CITY races in a row!

During the Thursday practice sessions, Shadow was like a rocket on the track. His Audi R8 had been given a few updates to make it a bigger threat to win him his first race. I was convinced that he would be the one likely to snatch the pole, given that he almost won the pole two weeks earlier in London only for Diddy and I to put our two Nissans on the front row.

Shadow's pole position prediction would prove to be wrong on Friday, March 14, as Diddy and I went on to snatch both slots on the front row again, with Diddy earning his second consecutive pole and me being on the second slot. I had therefore taken three front row grid slots in just three races in 2014!

To make things even better for our team, Sonic and Tails also took both slots on the second row (third and fourth) to make it a 1-2-3-4 qualifying effort for Nissan/Toyota Racing, our second of the year.

Sure enough, on Sunday morning, everyone was predicting that Diddy would win. He took Grand Chelems in both 2013 races (pole position, lead every lap, fastest lap and win), so it seemed that this course was one of his racing playgrounds. I may have won here three times, but not since 2009.

However, a surprise awaited me as I walked into the garage that morning …

The moment I stepped in, a bunch of crew members from all of our pit crews, our senior members, our team principals, and my three teammates (Diddy, Sonic and Tails) jumped out in front of me and held a small cake with a big '150' on top.

"Hey, there, buddy!" said one of the principals, "Since today is your 150th race, we thought we might bring in a little bit of celebratory flavor!"

150? Oh, yes! Many things had been going in my mind lately, and it made me almost forget that today marked my 150th Professional Cup start!

"Oh, my!" I replied, "I'd been forgetting that it was coming up! Man, you guys are awesome! I'm glad I'll have run 150 races with some of you great people! Thank you very much, everyone!"

"Hey, no problem, ol' pal!" said Diddy, walking up to me and patting my shoulder, "I know it may not seem that long ago when you were just starting, but … yeah, eighth year in the league and you've reached another milestone today! So, we don't we all enjoy some nice cake, shall we!?"

The team agreed and we all got a piece of that nice Japanese-made cake. It seemed like a new taste for me, but I found it to be enjoyable, but I would still prefer American chocolate as my favorite cake flavor, although the Japanese made this one-off surprise pretty tasty.

After that little celebration was over, we got our cars ready and within a few more hours we were ready to get on with the third round of the season.

As we fired up our engines just before 12:45 pm JST (Japan standard time), the starting grid would bring almost no surprise:

ROW 1

1. Diddy Kong – XANAVI NISMO GT-R; 2. myself – NISSAN R390 GT1

ROW 2

3. Miles "Tails" Prower – TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra; 4. Sonic the Hedgehog – TOYOTA GT-one

ROW 3

5. Shadow the Hedgehog – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004; 6. Al Reder, Jr. – MAZDA 787B

ROW 4

7. Greg Richards – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003; 8. Knuckles the Echidna – McLaren F1 GTR

ROW 5

9. Bob Stu, Jr. – HONDA G'ZOX NSX; 10. Jean Dubois – Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM

ROW 6

11. Pedro Fernandes – OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h

As the grid lights went off, I got a better start than Diddy and took the lead in the first corner. I could feel a bit of satisfaction coming to me already, given that I had not had decent results in the last two races and wanted to get a very good result here today. By the end of the first lap, I had awarded myself five bonus points for leading the first lap of my 150th Professional Cup race!

From there, Shadow began to show some strengths as he moved up from fifth starting spot up to second by lap six. A few laps later, I took one glance at my mirror and there he was, that dark hedgehog in pursuit of me, willing to pass, waiting for me to make a mistake, which I rarely ever do.

Even then, I didn't even have to make a mistake to enable Shadow to take the lead. On lap 20, he did it with his pure talent, pulling off an overtake to my right hand side in turn four towards the highway section. I was set on keeping up with him and trying to retake the lead, but then the rookie began to use his defensive maneuvers. If there was one thing Shadow proved, he doesn't need 'Chaos Control' to pull off a move on me!

(A/N: Just a pun on Shadow's 'Assist Trophy' ability in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl")

Shadow had broken away from his tie with Sonic for second place in the championship at the end of lap 20.

For the next twenty laps, no matter how hard I tried to get around Shadow, I could not get ahead of that Audi R8. Then, on lap 42, Diddy came storming by me to take second, then was quick to make a move on Shadow for the lead, which he did with success! I made another move on Shadow in turn six on that same lap and was finally ahead of the dark Audi again.

Twelve laps later, the first round of pit stops came up, and Diddy and I were the last ones to pit on lap 54. We came out still running 1-2 after our stops.

Throughout the second quarter of the race, things seemed (well, by my view) pretty boring. Even in my mirrors, nobody seemed to be keeping up with us.

It must have been another one of those days in which Nissan would dominate! Whenever this happens, I often think about that 2012 season where Diddy and I combined to win every single race that year for Nissan. The championship that year came down to the wire at the Nürburgring Finale, and in the end I just narrowly defeated Diddy for the championship by beating him for the win in that final race of what is now known as the 'Nissan Perfection' year. Diddy and I often like to look back at our perfect 2012 season. It really seems to have put such a great effect on our longtime friendship.

Somewhere far behind us, Al Reder, Jr. was determined to actually finish a race today, and he, for once, wasn't keen on his usually selfish driving behavior. He was having a rare clean race today and was now battling Shadow and Sonic for third place. Tails later joined that battle and they all swapped third place several times during the next hour.

However, from my POV, everything seemed boring and the rest of the second quarter ran like clockwork.

Diddy and I pulled in for our second pit stops on lap 108 for another full tank fill-up. Even after that, Diddy kept his lead, but the rest of the field had now closed in and I soon found my mirrors full of hungry competitors.

Reder, Shadow, Sonic and Tails all filled up my mirror and were hungry for second place throughout the next few laps. Soon after, we ended up swapping second place for quite a while with everyone taking turns trying to challenge Diddy for the lead, but Diddy never let anyone pass him the whole time.

It remained like this until the last round of pit stops around lap 160. Diddy and I pitted on lap 162 for a final quick fuel and tire service, and I was back in second place behind my #1 ally.

However, Shadow was still filling up my mirror and was once again keen on a possible victory challenge, but if anyone wanted to get around Diddy, they would have to get around ME first!

Shadow and I swapped second place several more times during the next 35 laps, and then with two laps to go I made my final overtaking move on Shadow as he ran wide in turn five, giving me plenty of space to make my move, and costing him time he would've dearly needed, ruining any chances he had left of victory. This assured that Nissan was going to do it again!

As the final lap began, I came up behind Diddy's back end and gave him a bump-draft going into the first corner to keep his speed up so we could ensure our first 1-2 finish for Nissan this season, compared to so many 1-2 finishes we had in 2012.

Diddy seemed to have been boosted well by my bump-drafting and we ran the final lap like rockets! Even Shadow seemed to no longer be visible in my mirror.

I could feel the excitement coming now. We had surely earned another 1-2 finish! As we came out of the last corner and ran that final uphill section on the start/finish straight and approached the line, Diddy came on my radio and said, "WWWWWOOOOOOOOOO, YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH! WE'VE DONE IT AGAIN, BUDDY! YYYEEEAAAHHH!"

"YOU SAID IT, DIDDY!" I shouted back at him via radio in excitement!

Diddy took another win and I crossed the line just over half of a second later.

DIDDY KONG WINS THE KONAMI 360! (DiddyKF1) IS SECOND! IT'S ANOTHER WONDERFUL DAY FOR NISSAN AND THEIR FAMOUS DOMINANCE HERE IN REV CITY! ANOTHER 1-2 FINISH FOR NISSAN AND VERY WELL-DESERVED!

Five REV CITY wins in a row for Diddy Kong, and I got my first podium finish of the season! YES, YES, YES! NISSAN DOMINANCE STRIKES AGAIN!

Elsewhere, Shadow took third place to make it three podiums in a row for him. Reder finished fourth, followed by Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Pedro Fernandes, Greg Richards, Bob Stu, Jr. and Jean Dubios. It was another seemingly occasional thing these days to have every car that started finish on the lead lap, compared to how extremely rare it was just a few years ago. With everyone having more competitive cars, Enthusia was still hoping to see some ultimate competition from everyone, although it didn't quite happen today.

As Diddy and I pulled our Nissans into parc ferme, it was another great sight of our pit crews waving at us in celebration of our 1-2 victory. I unstrapped myself, opened the door and stepped out of the car in front of a bunch of happy Japanese people. I walked over to my pit crew and gave handshakes to all of those great men who contributed to my good performance today. Then, I looked over and noticed Diddy walk up to me. I walked over to him and we hugged each other briefly.

Shadow soon pulled up in his Audi R8 and climbed out to join us.

We then walked into another room in which the three of us were led up a flight of stairs into another room. At the other side of this room would be the entrance to the podium stage, but for now we would wait a few minutes until everything was ready for the podium ceremonies. A senior member of Nissan/Toyota Racing walked up to join us while we waited.

I took a seat on a nearby bench.

Diddy looked like he couldn't wait to celebrate another 1-2 Nissan victory. He couldn't even try to wipe that grin off his face.

"Well, … there's a sight which I hear is common in this league," commented Shadow.

"Well, it happens quite often," I replied.

"True. I just love it when we get one-two finishes," said Diddy. He turned to me, "Don't ya, pal!?"

Diddy placed an arm around my back.

"Yeah," I said with a grin.

I turned to Shadow and noticed that he seemed to be pondering something. Then again, he always seemed to be doing that.

"Something on your mind, I assume?" I asked him.

"I could only wonder if it weren't for that mistake I made with two laps to go, … -" he said.

"I know that feeling," I commented, "I made a few mistakes myself in my rookie season back in '07."

"Yet you still won the championship that year," added Diddy.

"So … you'd say it's common pressure that's put on newcomers?" said Shadow.

"I guess you could put it that way," I replied.

I stood up and reached out my hand to offer the black hedgehog a handshake. What else could I do to get rid of that dark mind cloud over his head?

Shadow reached out his hand and we did a brief handshake. I could sense that we were about to begin gaining respect for one another.

Moments later, the door to the podium stage was opened and an Enthusia executive came in to tell us they were ready for us.

Diddy was the first to walk out and as I watched him walk over to the stage I could hear the sound of many loving Japanese fans and spectators cheering and crying out, it sounded like a huge party down there.

I straightened my red Nissan cap and took a couple of paces forward towards the stage and looked at a bunch of people waving and cheering at me and Diddy. I could tell that there were a bunch of Nissan fans of ours among that huge flooding of people. I waved my hand out to the crowds before walking up to the stage and stepping on the left step with the number '2' on it.

Shadow followed me with a brief wave to the sport's enthusiasts before taking the #3 step, and was soon followed by our Nissan/Toyota team's representing senior member.

Behind me, I could hear the Japanese national anthem (for Nintendo and for Nissan/Toyota Racing) begin to play. I brought my ears' attention to the crowds and I could faintly hear some of them singing to their own national anthem. I couldn't help but smile at that.

Just as the anthem finished playing, Diddy and I banged our knuckles against each other in happiness. Of course, we couldn't openly show our friendship to the crowds without doing that.

A moment later, an elderly Japanese man came up to the stage with the winner's trophy and handed it to Diddy. I applauded him in approval as the man came up to me to give me a handshake then did the same with Shadow.

Then, another elder Japanese political figure walked up with the Owner's Trophy and our senior member walked down to gladly accept it for our ever-so-great team. It was the team's 91st victory in 108 races since the Double-Manufacturer Team Era started back in 2009. He also gave all three of us drivers each a handshake.

I felt my heart pounding at that moment since I knew my second place trophy would be next, and, sure enough, another very polite Japanese man came over to me and presented me with a shiny silver K (for Konami, being the race's title sponsor). I smiled at the man, took the silver trophy in my grasp and gave the man a handshake. Then, I raised my second place trophy high above my head so everyone could see it.

Lastly, another Japanese political figure stepped up with a bronze third place trophy for Shadow to accept, which he kindly did with more handshakes from all of us drivers.

Finally, the most fun moment of all podium ceremonies had come. The three of us (in unison) grasped our champagne bottles in front of us, popped the caps off and began to spray the champagne everywhere just as Bizet's "Overture" began to play in the background behind us. Shadow and I sprayed some all over Diddy before the three of us sprayed most of the rest over the crowds.

Soon after, we each drank the last of the champagne from our bottles before we stepped back onto the podium steps with our senior team member and we each waved at the crowds once more before picking up our trophies and champagne bottles and exiting the stage and making a trip towards the press conference room.

The press conference room seemed like a good quiet break from all the loudness that had been going on. Diddy, Shadow and I walked in and took the three seats that were provided to us in front of a group of journalists, cameras and an interviewer. Now came the time to deal with the press as a top three finisher. First time this year that I was among the top three, so today was a different deal for me than the previous two rounds were.

As we waited, miniature microphones were connected to the front of our uniforms so it could be easier for the TV viewers to hear us. After about ten minutes of waiting, I heard a signal come from one of the cameramen, revealing that the television viewers now had their eyes on us and it was time for the interviews to begin.

The interviewer began to speak through the microphone:

"Thank you, Michael. Now I'm here with our winner today, Diddy Kong of Nissan/Toyota Racing, second place (DiddyKF1), also of Nissan/Toyota Racing, and third place Shadow the Hedgehog of Audi/BMW Racing. Diddy, we are going to start with you. This is your fifth consecutive REV CITY win and you were in dominating form all day today. Tell us what exactly does REV CITY mean to you given that you've now won five in a row."

Diddy seemed ready to answer those questions just as the interviewer was finished asking him:

"Well, REV CITY means a lot to me and has for the past three years, so to win five in a row today really means so much to me. I love racing here and it's always been fun running here in the Nismo GT-R, so it's really no surprise that I was in dominating form today. The crew did a great job with the car this weekend. It seemed flawless and nothing could take a challenge to me. When that final lap began and noticed that only (DiddyKF1) was in my mirrors, I felt assured that this win was ours. There was no doubt about it. I've basically added another great REV CITY memory to my resume and I feel proud of it. This track has been special to everyone on the team since that tragic day in November 2010, and ever since then, we've been making up some great results here and always have been looking for great results so I feel glad to have added another one today."

"Well done, Diddy," said the interviewer before turning to me, "(DiddyKF1), your first podium finish of 2014 and it comes as another second place finish to your best friend, Diddy Kong. I'm sure you're feeling quite ecstatic right now."

I quickly came up with an answer:

"Yes, I do feel quite ecstatic. I've not been very satisfied with how the first two races turned out and I really wanted to improve it to a podium finish today. I possibly may have wanted to win, but I guess I just didn't have the strength to stay ahead of Diddy today. Then again, I'm happy for him anyways, given that we make great teammates, and I'll just go ahead and congratulate him for another REV CITY win. He well-deserved it and it couldn't have gone better. Uh, my race seemed to go very well during the first twenty laps when I took the lead going into the first corner, but when Shadow showed me what a rookie really can be made of, I had pretty much lost the majority of my strength for the day, but I'm sure I may have had a chance of making it better for me and my crew, but I guess we just didn't have the edge when it mattered most. I'm just happy that we got Nissan another 1-2 victory and we'll take things to California from here, so … great race."

The interviewer asked me another question as well:

"Today was also your 150th Professional Cup race. Are you sure that you may have deserved better than second place?"

"Well, … I think I may have had a chance to improve my result if I had my defensive strengths with me today, which I wasn't quite fueled up for today. I somehow can't believe that today that was my 150th race given how fast time tends to fly when you're off the track, having fun. I'm proud to have reached that experience milestone today, and I hope to improve things even further in California two weeks from now."

"Great job today," replied the interviewer, who then turned to Shadow, "Shadow, just three races into your career and three podium finishes already, something that very few, including Diddy, have done in the past. What would you describe about that achievement?"

"I somehow wasn't thinking that was going to happen, given that I really didn't have any experience in this prior to this year, but I guess the team's form must be at an extremely high rate this season, given that we have a decent performance package and a good lineup. I thought today was quite some excitement for the fans, like they say, REV CITY always brings some kind of excitement for everyone to see. We had a pretty good car this weekend, we were fastest in practice on Thursday and we were assuming that we had a chance to win. I did have some strength today to show that I could be a top contender when I found myself dueling with the Nissans all day today, as well as having to fend off Reder, but overall I think this was a decent weekend and I hope to transfer it into a possible victory in California two weeks from now."

"Good job today," the interviewer said before turning back to Diddy for the closing statement, "Diddy, back to you. You have a 115 point advantage over Shadow right now, and three races into the season you seem to be showing signs of a possible title-contending season. Do you have any thoughts right now on the possibility of winning your third championship this year?"

"Well, … I haven't really been thinking about that. It's still early in the year and we've got eighteen more races ahead of us, so we've really been focusing on trying to get through the early part of the year. Then again, I'm sure I might have a chance this year. I've already won twice in three races and a few other guys are already over a thousand points behind, so only time can tell at this point."

"Thank you to all three of you, and congratulations, Diddy, on your win here today. Diddy Kong, (DiddyKF1) and Shadow the Hedgehog: the top three for the 2014 Konami 360. Thank you and good luck in San Francisco."

"Thank you," the three of us replied in unison before disconnecting our microphones and leaving the room to rejoin the celebrations down in the paddock.

Inside, I felt very happy for Diddy taking his fifth straight REV CITY win, although I'm sure I may have deserved better since it was my 150th race, but I just wanted to give Diddy some extra respect.

Among the first things Diddy got when we returned to the paddock was a huge bear hug from Donkey Kong which he seems to always get whenever he wins. Sonic and Tails also came to congratulate us on our 1-2 victory.

It was the first time this year that Tails finished outside the top five, but it didn't really effect him that badly.

One seventh of the way through the year, and the championship standings seemed to be near-identical to how they looked after SPEEDIAPOLIS:

1. Diddy Kong – 1,580 points

2. Shadow the Hedgehog – 1,465 points

3. Sonic the Hedgehog – 1,360 points

4. myself – 1,115 points

5. Miles "Tails" Prower – 1,005 points

6. Knuckles the Echidna – 955 points

7. Greg Richards – 700 points

8. Al Reder, Jr. – 655 points

9 (t). Bob Stu, Jr. – 400 points

(t) Pedro Fernandes – 400 points

11. Jean Dubois – 350 points

I told you Tails wasn't badly effected!

Coming up on March 30, it's the second American race of the year when Enthusia takes a trip to San Francisco to race through the 'City by the Bay'!


	5. Race 4: Snap-On 480

ROUND 4

Snap-On 480 – PACIFIC GATEWAY – San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

March 30, 2014

* * *

Yeah, the Snap-On tools company, but it's one of the more favored sponsors of this area: the City by the Bay. We had only just competed in Japan two weeks previously, so this was basically just a trip over the Pacific back to America, except we were right on the eastern Pacific coast.

The PACIFIC GATEWAY street circuit is Enthusia's western-most location and is one of only two circuits in the league to feature a figure eight layout, the other one being the LÖWENSEERING in Germany.

At PACIFIC GATEWAY, I have been an ultimate master! We come here twice a year, just like every other course except the Nürburgring, yet since 2007, in fourteen previous starts, I had won twelve times! The Snap-On 480 I had won five times while the American 500 I have NEVER lost in seven previous years! I'm serious! NEVER! This is obviously my best course, or maybe my second-most favorite behind the Nürburgring.

What's not to like? The sight of the Golden Gate Bridge? The scenery of the docks?

Well, maybe the one tricky section tends to be that nasty chicane at the end of the circuit just before the start/finish line. It has a bad tendency of catching people off guard, yet I had never had such an error in that chicane.

On Thursday practice, I was the fastest by miles. Even the best of the rest couldn't keep up. This continued into the Friday morning session before qualifying was underway that afternoon.

In what became a qualifying session of spills and chills, I took my second pole of the year and made it four out of four for Nissan this season! Diddy qualified second to make it three consecutive 1-2 qualifying efforts by Nissan, sweeping the front row yet again!

Tails took third on the grid for the second round in succession, but the real surprises were Sonic and Shadow ending up outside the top five of the grid, something which hadn't happened to Sonic since some point during the third quarter of 2013.

On Sunday morning, everybody predicted that I would win, given that I have always excelled heavily on this course. Most drivers tend to have a particular course in which they always dominate, and as for my case, it's right here in San Francisco.

There had been a threat of adverse weather conditions for the San Francisco area, but, fortunately those storms were not to arrive until that night, which meant that this race would not be effected by wet conditions. It had been mostly cloudy throughout the morning, but as the race drew closer to the start, the clouds began to drift away and temperatures were in the low 60s.

The starting grid for round four saw a few surprises as I had mentioned in qualifying:

ROW 1

1. myself – NISSAN R390 GT1; 2. Diddy Kong – XANAVI NISMO GT-R

ROW 2

3. Miles "Tails" Prower – TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra; 4. Knuckles the Echidna – McLaren F1 GTR

ROW 3

5. Greg Richards – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003; 6. Sonic the Hedgehog – TOYOTA GT-one

ROW 4

7. Al Reder, Jr. – MAZDA 787B; 8. Shadow the Hedgehog – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004

ROW 5

9. Bob Stu, Jr. – HONDA G'ZOX NSX; 10. Pedro Fernandes – OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h

ROW 6

11. Jean Dubois – Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM

At 1:00 pm PDT, the race was on and I got the quick start I needed to secure the lead through the opening corners.

I kept the lead for the first two laps until Tails overtook me in turn two on lap three. From there, Tails would go on to have a splendid race, his first strong showing with our team in only his fourth race with us.

While Tails refused to look back, I was quickly challenged for second by Sonic, Reder and Shadow, whom had quickly moved up the field from eighth starting position.

My time in second only lasted a few laps before Reder almost forced me off the road with his assertive driving and stole the place from me. From there, I began to experience issues with my clutch from time to time, but I tried not to let it effect my race too badly. I kept myself in the battle for second until Shadow clipped a kerb on the chicane and drove into the wall at the end of lap eighteen.

Shadow's car ended up with a badly damaged nose which had to be replaced in the pits. Debris left from his collision with the wall brought up the safety car for the first time in the race.

Shadow ended up stuck in the pits for several minutes while his crew replaced the nose on his car. This would render him in last place, two laps behind. He would have to rely on several more cautions not caused by himself in order to get back into the game.

At this point, I had regained second place from Reder and was determined to keep that place despite my bad clutch.

When the race went green again on lap 22, Tails kept his lead while I was not able to retain second from Reder. I ended up slumping back to fourth as I was also passed by Sonic.

Meanwhile, Diddy was also having his problems as well. He had similar clutch problems to the ones I was having. It looked like luck would not be on Nissan's side today.

When the first round of pit stops came up, Diddy and I pitted together on lap 42 so that our crews could determine what was wrong with our clutches. We didn't spend too much time dealing with it, however, only making minor adjustments to the engine while our services were done.

As soon as I was on my way out, I tested my clutch going into the first corner, and it seemed to have slightly improved, but still in a bad condition. Diddy's response was the same thing. Maybe we had worn out our clutches in qualifying? We weren't sure what it was, but we simply kept on going and hoped that luck would be on our side again soon.

Meanwhile, Tails was still leading by a considerable amount and it looked like no one could touch him. Even Reder was not able to catch a glimpse of the white back end of that blue and white Toyota Supra.

However, Reder was eventually able to catch the Toyota around lap seventy and began to challenge him for the lead.

Reder claimed the lead on lap 73 while I was soon battling Sonic for third place with Diddy and Shadow in tow.

Elsewhere, on lap 82, Knuckles spun his BMW-powered McLaren somewhere in sector four and had to spin it back around under his own power. However, while he was recovering, Pedro Fernandes came charging towards him and swerved to the right in an attempt to find room to avoid colliding with the McLaren F1, only to end up colliding with the wall instead and severely damaging his right front. Knuckles continued unscathed, but Pedro's race was over as his car came to a stop grinding against the right-side wall.

Shadow was still two laps down at this point, but Tails moved over and let him pass before they reached the start/finish line where the no overtaking rule would begin its effect. With Shadow being the only lapped car during this caution, the free pass rule would enable him to get back onto the lead lap and rejoin the battle for the lead.

This triggered the second caution of the afternoon. As the second round of pit stops was supposed to be coming up anyway, we took this caution as an opportunity to pit in and make some more adjustments. Diddy and I especially needed this opportunity to make more gearbox adjustments.

As soon as pit road was open, we all pulled in for regular service. While the tires were being changed and the fuel tank was refilled, another crew member opened up the engine compartment and tweaked a few parts on the engine to ensure improved clutch performance.

As soon as the service was done and my engine compartment was closed, I peeled out of my stall and was still in third place behind Tails and Reder, while Shadow had the fastest stop and moved up from tenth to sixth.

How amazing! One point, Shadow is two laps down in last place, then suddenly only moments later, he's back on the lead lap and in sixth! He really had a miracle going for him!

On the restart on lap 86, Sonic had an incredible takeoff from a 60 mile per hour rolling start and immediately passed me for third before taking off in pursuit of Reder for second, and eventually his best friend Tails for the lead.

Before the lap was over, Sonic's Toyota GT-one had taken the lead of the race for the first time this afternoon.

From there, we went into another one of those boring, uneventful periods until the third round of pit stops took place from laps 124-127. I pitted on lap 126 and made even more adjustments, yet my clutch still wasn't perfect just yet.

I rejoined still in fourth place, but Shadow, having overtaken Diddy for fifth place, was now right behind me, threatening to take the place away from me.

On lap 148, I saw the sight of yellow lights again, and during the next lap I got the proof. Greg Richards' Audi R8 was seen sitting against the wall in sector four, having run across the gravel trap. It was later revealed that he clipped kerb in that left-handed corner and forced the left side of the car briefly off the ground and on a one-way trip into the gravel trap and crashing into the wall, ending his race on the spot.

As soon as the race restarted again on lap 152, I was quick to make a move on Reder for third place while Tails had regained the lead from Sonic. The hedgehog soon began to show signs of slowing down as I passed him for second only a few laps later. Reder and Shadow were quick to follow my draft.

On lap 168, I made my fourth and final stop for one last tank refill, tire change and minor adjustment.

As I drove out of the pits after that final stop, my clutch was suddenly performing perfectly again! At long last, I could really drive the wheels off this thing!

On lap 179, Reder's cruelty struck again …

In the chicane at the end of the lap, Reder clipped the back of Shadow's Audi while battling for third place. Shadow went spinning towards the wall and swerved back onto the track, but not before being tagged by teammate Knuckles the Echidna, and, even worse, …

Sonic! NO! SONIC HAD NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN A WRECK OF ANY KIND UNTIL HERE! He had never had a DNF in his entire career! He had finished every possible lap since the day 'Donkey Kong Country Returns' was released in America; his 2010 Nürburgring Finale debut! Now, that career-long streak was to come to a shocking and heartbreaking end …

Sonic was clipped in the left rear by Shadow's sliding car and later collected Bob Stu, Jr.'s Honda, Reder's teammate!

So … Reder had removed his own teammate and three SEGA characters from the race, got away with murder of three cars and kept going without penalty … for now. He would face the possibility of a grid penalty for the next round in Paris, France. What a buffoon that guy is! Why did he ever win seven championships!? Explain that!

Sadly, this was indeed to be the first DNF for both Sonic and Shadow. Knuckles was also gone for the day, leaving Tails as the only remaining SEGA character in the race. Tails was still leading at this point, but not for long …

On lap 182, the race was green again, and Tails got a miserable takeoff, immediately losing the lead to Reder, who surely didn't deserve to be leading at this rate after the massive wreck he caused and escaped from … all from his own doings!

I eventually gave Reder something he DID deserve by nudging the side of his car while overtaking him for the lead on lap 186. It was the first time I had lead since I was passed by Tails for first place way back on lap three. Tails came back to lead briefly, followed by Diddy, who's clutch was finally working properly again too.

Reder began to lose speed and was no longer in contention for the win. However, Tails also began to lose it, and Diddy finally took the lead for the first time in the race and got the five bonus points he needed to keep himself in the lead of the championship.

From there, Tails lost ground, and he eventually found his chances of victory spoiled. Nissan was to be ensured yet another 1-2 win! YES, YES, YES! NISSAN AGAIN!

On lap 199, I pulled up alongside Diddy going into the tricky chicane, and Diddy slammed his brakes to avoid anything bad from happening. I kept my foot on the gas a second longer, which allowed me to assume the lead as we approached the white flag, which signaled the final lap.

Throughout that final lap, Diddy stayed put in my mirrors and never disappeared from my sight, yet he never made an attempt to pass me. It was simply another one of those things in which we want to keep everyone in a good range of staying alive in the hunt for the championship, even though it's so early in the season. It's only round four out of twenty-one, yet we all want to make a shot this year like we do every year.

My heart began to pound with pride as I approached the chicane for the 200th time with Diddy's dark red and silver Nissan Skyline GT-R still right behind me. As I saw the checkered flag fly over the line, I became assured that it was time to celebrate!

At one point, I felt sure that neither one of us was going to be on the podium with our clutch problems, but Lady Luck apparently sided with us today! We got what we truly deserved!

"HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLLLL, YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!" I screamed in my radio as we approached the finish line.

"YES! WELL DONE, MATE! WELL-DESERVED WIN! WE'VE CONQUERED CALIFORNIA YET AGAIN!"

I crossed the line with Diddy less than a second behind me!

"YYYYYEEEEESSSSS! WE'VE WON! PACIFIC GATEWAY IS STILL MINE TO CONQUER! GREAT JOB, GUYS! FROM NOTHING TO VICTORY! THAT'S WHAT I CALL A MIRACULOUS RACE! WWWWWOOOOO, HHHHHOOOOO!"

Yes! I won the Snap-On 480! It's my thirteenth PACIFIC GATEWAY win and the 48th win of my career! Diddy Kong finishes second to give Nissan two 1-2 wins in a row!

And guess what!? With Sonic and Shadow not finishing, I moved up to second place in the point standings behind Diddy after my win in round four! NISSANS FIRST AND SECOND IN POINTS! YES, YES, YES!

Diddy is now the only driver to have finished in the top five in every race so far this year with his second place finish today!

Tails, having taken the first fastest lap of his entire career, came across the line in third, earning his first podium for Nissan/Toyota Racing, making it an all-Nissan/Toyota Racing podium for the first time this season with Shadow out of the way for that!

Reder finished fourth while Jean Dubois was the last car across the line in fifth, earning his first career top five finish in only his fourth start. It seemed that he earned it only after escaping the massive wreck, given that the Mercedes-Benz/Opel Racing team have uncompetitive cars.

I enjoyed my victory lap with Diddy sharing the spotlight with me as we saluted the crowds on every stand we could find on the circuit.

Once we reached the pits and pulled into parc ferme, I felt so rejuvenated with my first win of the season! Diddy and Tails pulled alongside me on either side in the second and third slots.

I climbed out of my car and waved to the huge crowds in the main grandstands before receiving pats on the back from my crew members and, of course, Diddy, the only teammate who's always been a true friend on and off the track! Of course, Sonic and Tails have also been good friends on and off the track, but no one can ever compare to Diddy!

Diddy, Tails and I were eventually led into the weighing room for mandatory checks before being escorted upstairs into the waiting room outside the podium stage.

I gave Tails a pat on the head while we waited and said, "Hey, great job on your first podium with NTR!"

"Thanks, I really appreciate the encouragement from a great team captain like you," replied Tails with a grin.

Having had a best finish of fifth in both of the first two rounds before coming here, Tails felt very happy to be on the podium as a teammate of ours for the first time. It was also his first podium since the most recent PACIFIC GATEWAY race last August when he was still with Audi/BMW Racing where Knuckles and Shadow now drive for.

A few minutes later, the word came that they were ready, and I jumped onto the stage doing eccentric skipping as I trotted towards the top step right in the center of the podium stage in celebration! Diddy and Tails followed me out along with a senior member of our team.

For the first time in 2014, at last some national anthem other than Japan's would be played: The "Star-Spangled Banner" would be played for me, being an American. The driver's national anthem always came first before the team's did, meaning that the Japanese national anthem followed immediately after the "Star-Spangled Banner" ended. Soon after, I was received my winner's trophy from a polticial figure from the state of California. I raised my Snap-On Tools golden trophy above my head so everyone could get the taste of my victory! This was the sixth time I got one of these!

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and now, 2014!

I guess you could say that I really am the "Pacific Gateway" master, just as much the same sense as Diddy Kong being a "Löwenseering" master!

Once our senior member received the team's trophy, Diddy received his second place trophy and Tails, third place, the first trophy given to him this season of any kind, I was quick to pick up my champagne bottle and began to spray it everywhere before Diddy and Tails had even stepped off to join in! I felt so energetic at that moment and wanted everyone to share the taste of victory with me!

Diddy and Tails started pouring their champagne on me before we each took sips from our bottles. We then stepped back on our podium steps and posed for another series of photographs for a few seconds before stepping off and exiting the stage with our trophies.

I way I could describe it to the press was that we didn't seem to have luck at first, but after the massive wreck caused by Reder towards the halfway point of the final quarter of the race, things really turned around for us. We found our boost in performance right when we desperately needed it and used it wisely. That's what you call a well-deserved 1-2 victory!

Speaking of Reder, he was put under investigation by the stewards shortly after the big wreck, and they ultimately elected to give him a five-place grid penalty for the next round in Paris, France on April 13. For once, Reder was actually punished for dangerous driving. He had not only put himself in danger, but several other drivers as well, including his teammate!

What an idiot!

Sonic? Well, well, well, how very sad to see his record number of consecutive finishes right from his very first race at the end of 2010 shockingly come to an end on a day like this. When Diddy, Tails and I returned to the Nissan/Toyota Racing team's paddock area after our post-race press conference, we found Sonic in his paddock looking very upset. It was the first DNF of his whole career, and it left him heartbroken and devastated.

Tails was the first to walk up to him, given how much of a dear friend he's been to him for so many years.

"Hey, … I can only feel so much sympathy for you right now, ol' friend," said Tails as he patted Sonic on the back.

"Hey, guys," Sonic replied in a very low, unenthusiastic voice, "Great job on your podium sweep. I can only wonder what could have been if I was just a few inches further ahead than I was."

"I know that feeling," commented Diddy, "Wrecks can be hard to avoid."

"Yet I was the master at avoiding wrecks!" said Sonic, "Everyone had praised me for the awesome streak of wreck avoidance situations I had been in prior to today. It really helped me earn badges for being such a clean driver. I can only wonder what's gonna happen after this?"

"I'd put the blame on Reder," I said, "After all, he's the one to ran Shadow off the road. Wasn't Shadow's car the one that hit your's?"

"Yeah," answered Sonic.

"Well, … Reder's never been the 'clean' type, so I'm sure nobody is going to criticize you for simply being involved in this wreck."

"Every wreck I ever saw ahead of me, I could always find that narrow path to escaping the chaos, yet I couldn't do it here. Why?"

"I don't know," said Diddy.

"All we can do is just put it behind and focus on the next round," I added.

Sonic simply sighed, "You're right, guys. At least I'm still in a high rank in the championship right now, so nobody can lose hope just yet."

Sonic would definitely not abandon any hope of future results promising him a championship challenge for 2014.

After four rounds, the championship points looked like this:

1. Diddy Kong – 2,085 points

2. myself – 1,670 points

3(t). Sonic the Hedgehog – 1,665 points

(t) Shadow the Hedgehog – 1,665 points

5. Miles "Tails" Prower – 1,465 points

6. Knuckles the Echidna – 1,105 points

7. Al Reder, Jr. – 860 points

8. Greg Richards – 800 points

9. Jean Dubois – 700 points

10. Bob Stu, Jr. – 650 points

11. Pedro Fernandes – 450 points

* * *

On April 13, Enthusia will be heading back to Europe, as the Professional Cup stars find themselves racing next to the Arc of Triumph in Paris, France.


	6. Race 5: Audi 285

ROUND 5

AUDI 285 – ROUTE de la SEINE – Paris, France

April 13, 2014

* * *

Bonjour! Bienvenue à Paris!

Just kidding! That's just the way they say 'Hello! Welcome to Paris!' in their own country.

This week, the Enthusia Professional Cup Series was on its way to a glorious trip to Paris!

The ROUTE de la SEINE street circuit is among the most wondrous of the circuits in the series. The Arc of Triumph oversees the main straight as it stands in the background behind turn one. When you come off of turn three you can briefly gaze at the busy traffic in the area surrounding the circuit before taking a difficult left-hand turn towards a very tricky hairpin. Following the hairpin, a nice looking courtyard comes up as turns seven eventually takes us out of the courtyard towards a small shop-filled street. Following the chicane of turns nine and ten, the circuit overpasses itself as turn eleven is a long right-hand corner that descends downward towards its own entrance and into the crowded Saint-Germain Street. After a 'hard-to-master' left, right and left series of turns, we return to the pit straight where the Arc of Triumph is visible again.

There's just much to talk about this place, I couldn't figure out where to stop!

We've had our good and bad memories here in Paris.

A perfect example of a bad one was 2012 when an Audi driver (who was actually a high school friend of mine who wanted to be in the series but eventually proved to not be a clean driver) had a ferocious rivalry with Diddy Kong since October 2011 after he blew an insult at Diddy, which the monkey never got over. In 2012, the two constantly banged on each other. Diddy was almost always the victim since he never liked to play dirty. He would fight back occasionally at the end of races and always won, but his rival had had enough. During practice for the 2012 Audi 285, the rival forced Diddy into a nightmarish wreck on the main straight and just about brawled him to death. Diddy ended up competing in the race with a cracked rib cage and a few bruises, but he still went on to dominate the weekend despite his injuries while the rival was banned from racing forever after being proven guilty for attempt of murder.

I guess it was a combination of the good and the bad. My high school friend never really deserved to be in the series. Why did I ever give him a test if I had known (which I didn't at the time) that he was eventually going to target down Diddy because he thought he wins too much. I don't mind if Diddy wins so much, so why should my friend/rival?

Another strange memory was last year when Al Reder, Jr. wrecked me and took a ten-second penalty added to his final race time. This cost him victory even though he eventually crossed the line first. Tails Prower, then driving the BMW McLaren, was second across the line and therefore took the win. It was his first win ever in his Professional Cup career. Reder was demoted to fifth with his time penalty.

Anyways, now back to present times.

While Tails set a great pace on Thursday practice, a big surprise awaited us in Friday qualifying …

As local hero Jean Dubois took to the track in his Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM, he set a blistering lap time of 1:16.460. As qualifying spurred on, it would eventually turn out that nobody had the right amount of energy to beat that lap time! Even Diddy and I at Nissan couldn't beat him. This would secure Dubois his first pole in only his fifth race. Nissan's streak of eleven consecutive pole positions in a row that dated back to September 2013 came to an end.

I could only manage second behind Dubois while Diddy took third. Our Toyota teammates, Tails and Sonic, took fourth and fifth, respectively.

With Reder's grid penalty, having qualified ninth, he had to start last! I'd say that was a fair punishment after what he did in San Francisco.

On Sunday morning, the grid looked like this:

ROW 1

1. Jean Dubois – Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM; 2. myself – NISSAN R390 GT1

ROW 2

3. Diddy Kong – XANAVI NISMO GT-R; 4. Miles "Tails" Prower – TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra

ROW 3

5. Sonic the Hedgehog – TOYOTA GT-one; 6. Knuckles the Echidna – McLaren F1 GTR

ROW 4

7. Greg Richards – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003; 8. Shadow the Hedgehog – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004

ROW 5

9. Bob Stu, Jr. – HONDA G'ZOX NSX; 10. Pedro Fernandes – OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h

ROW 6

11. Al Reder, Jr. – MAZDA 787B

At 1:00 PM CEST, the race was 'GO'! 150 laps around ROUTE de la SEINE; 285.45 miles.

Dubois got a surprisingly great start and kept his lead going into the first corner despite my attempts to get around the silver Mercedes.

I found it so surprising just to see the Mercedes up front, given that it's usually slow compared to most of us. It may have won five times since 2003, but it rarely ever was seen up front, so this was a rare opportunity for Mercedes-Benz/Opel Racing to show what they really have. Maybe it could have been that Dubois had a home field advantage, given that he is French and has already had lots of experience on this circuit competing in minor leagues before entering his first Professional Cup season this year.

Dubois led the first eight laps before I eventually forced my way ahead of the Silver Arrows in turn four on lap nine. Diddy had just about given me a good boost to help me past the rookie Frenchman.

Even after losing the lead, Dubois was not about to let his home fans down so easily. He stayed right behind me while Diddy began to fill up his mirror, but also behind my Kong friend/partner, it was still a slug-fest for fourth place. Everyone wanted to seize a chance at challenging the Frenchman today.

Some laps later, Dubois eventually sneaks his way past me to regain the lead while Diddy comes up right behind me and begins to draft me on the long main straight so as to help me keep up with him.

Just as Sonic and Tails caught Diddy's draft around lap 52, the first round of pit stops came up. All five of us pitted on lap 53.

Amazingly, I was the first one out with Diddy in tow. Sonic came out third, followed by Tails. Dubois did not have a quick stop and came out in fifth. Our team got the advantage! First, second, third and fourth! I wanted to thank our pit crews so much for getting us all into the top four.

I now had the lead with all three of my teammates right behind me! Jean was right behind them in fifth, while Shadow the Hedgehog's Audi approached the back of Dubois and began to challenge him for the top position among rookies.

Shadow's teammate, Knuckles the Echidna also came up to challenge in his BMW-powered McLaren.

On lap 63, Diddy finally took the lead for the first time after he found room to get in front of me in turn one as we braked hard for the difficult left-hand turn where the Arc of Triumph overlooked.

As Diddy led, our Toyota partners were soon overtaken by Dubois' rather quick Mercedes. Man, that rookie really was having the race of his life today. He hadn't had a chance to have a competitive race until now, even though this was only his fifth career start.

Just a few laps later, Dubois blasted ahead of me and took off in pursuit of Diddy's Nismo GT-R.

With his home nation's crowd cheering him on, Dubios retook the lead, passing Diddy in turn four on lap 75.

Then, Shadow showed up behind me, having also overtaken the Toyotas. Soon after, he passed Diddy and I for second place. Both rookies were now running first and second. Could this be a "Rookies' Day" today?

I ended up lured behind in a battle for third place with my three teammates as the two rookies took off and dueled each other for the lead, but Shadow never got ahead of Dubois. The Frenchman really wanted to give his home crowd something to remember.

While Knuckles pursued us, we swapped third place numerous times while refusing to let the BMW past. If the rookies were going to try to beat us, we at Nissan/Toyota Racing did NOT want to risk losing any more places than we already were. We desperately wanted a good finish today so that we could all stay in the top five in the championship. Tails was still a little behind in the championship standings and wanted to keep up so he could have a shot at the title later this year.

On lap 106, we pitted for the second and final time. Even pit stops would do nothing to stop the intensity we were giving each other in our effort to hold up Knuckles and Reder, nor did it help us catch Shadow or Dubois. The rookies kept their advantage.

It didn't last long, though …

At the end of lap 113, Greg Richards smacked the wall coming out of the last corner and stopped his car against the retaining wall separating the track and the pits. This brought out the safety car for three laps, tarnishing the gap that the rookies had put on us. This would ensure that almost everyone had a chance to win it.

On lap 118, the race went green again. Shadow did not have a very good restart and dropped back, losing two positions to me and Diddy.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles began to deal with Shadow for fourth place while Diddy and I took off to challenge Dubois again.

Throughout the laps that followed, we kept up with the Mercedes, but neither one of us could find a way past.

I rushed my left hand towards my team communicator which had three buttons on it. I pressed the dark red one to switch my radio signal to Diddy's so that I could communicate with the little monkey.

"Diddy, we've gotta try something that we haven't tried yet. Surely, this young rookie hasn't seen everything yet, has he?" I told my highly-trusted teammate/friend.

"Well, (DiddyKF1), ol' friend," replied Diddy in my radio, "I've got something I've wanted to try for a long time!"

(**A/N**: You may have noticed by now from reading previous chapters, but now I'm explaining it. I use my user name in parenthesis in place of where others say my actual name in order to bar it out.)

I watched the two cars ahead of me to see what Diddy's plan was …

On lap 184, Diddy pulled alongside Dubois' car and looked as if he was about to pass him on the right side coming out of turn ten before he swerved to the outside of turn eleven where it would be impossible to ever overtake.

However, the way Dubios was driving, he looked like he was confused at that moment, thinking he may have been blocking Diddy, when in fact, Diddy had pulled up on his left so quickly that Dubois looked like he was letting the monkey passed. WHAT AN AMAZING TRICK, DIDDY! You monkeys are tricky with pranks on your home island AND on the racetrack! LOL!

"MADE HIM LOOK! HA, HA, HA!" laughed Diddy on his radio so that I knew his prankster plan worked.

"You are a master, buddy!" I answered him.

As we came out of turn eleven and went under the overpass, Diddy was clearly in the lead, followed by Dubois and myself. I'd be sure Jean wasn't happy about it. He wanted to try to get ahead of Diddy again after that.

A few more laps went by before Diddy used his team communicator again.

On lap 188, Diddy encouraged me to take the Mercedes.

"Go for it, (DiddyKF1)! This guy is easy to pass on the long straight provided that you have plenty of momentum!" said Diddy.

At the end of that lap, I made a careful exit out of the last corner and charged to the left to pass Dubois. Sure enough, I had the speed to get past and I successfully took second place.

"Alright, Diddy!" I yelled at my radio in gladness, "We're running 1-2!"

"Yes!" shouted Diddy in my radio, "Let's keep it that way and make it three 1-2 finishes in a row! We've got a good season ahead of us, partner!"

I deactivated my team communicator shortly after Diddy made that approval and we began to hold a steady pace over Dubois.

As the laps winded down, it became clear that we were going to finish 1-2 again!

Dubois kept up and tried to make a daring pass near the end, but I blocked his move.

As the last lap began, I was right up Diddy's rear end and we went into the first corner side-by-side. We stayed by side-by-side through the next mile, even though some parts of the circuit would not be suitable for side-by-side racing.

Eventually, as we approached the chicane, I had the speed I needed, and I just about got ahead of Diddy as we went over the overpass and back down again.

Three, then two, then one more corner, then the checkered flag!

"YES! YES! YES! TWO IN A ROW!" I yelled to my engineer on my radio just as I crossed the line with Diddy right behind me.

"GREAT RUN, (DiddyKF1)!" replied my engineer, "FORTY-NINTH WIN! THE FIFTY-WIN CLUB IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER FOR YOU NOW! JUST ONE MORE AND YOU'RE IN ENTHUSIA IMMORTALITY YET AGAIN!"

"OH, MY GOD!" I shouted, "I THINK WE'RE IN FOR A GREAT YEAR! FIVE RACES, FOUR WINS FOR NISSAN!"

"JUST WAIT 'TIL WE HEAD BACK TO JAPAN TWO WEEKS FROM NOW! YOU'RE GONNA BE IN A CHALLENGE NOW!" said my engineer, likely referring to my upcoming challenge towards what could eventually become my fiftieth win some time from now.

50!? Yeah, 50! I was now just one win away from 50 after reaching 49 today!

Jean Dubois finished third, earning his first career podium, having also taken his first career fastest lap in the process. He had a fantastic weekend, and he would remember this one for quite a while before he got a chance to do it again, given that his team always tends to be a slow one, the worst in the series.

Shadow finished fourth to again break his tie with Sonic in points. He would now hang on to third place in the standings while Sonic finished fifth, dropping to fourth in points. Tails and Knuckles followed in sixth and seventh, respectively. Reder finished eighth. Pedro Fernandes held off Bob Stu, Jr. for ninth.

After our victory lap, Diddy and I both ran down the main straight and began doing donuts in celebration of our third consecutive 1-2 finish!

Tokyo, San Francisco, and now Paris! Three races in a row, Diddy and I finish first and second for Nissan!

By now, people begin to ask: Will 2014 be another dominant season for Nissan, just as 2012 was?

I don't think it will ever compare to 2012 when Diddy and I were actually PERFECT combining race wins that year. I won eight times that year while Diddy won thirteen times, but I still won the championship even though Diddy led the championship throughout just about the entire season. Everyone else got NOTHING! Zip-zero! 2012 was simply perfect for Nissan and that was that! Nobody could beat either one of us that year. We even finished 1-2 in almost every race that year as well.

As soon as we finished our victory donuts and burnouts, we pulled into parc ferme alongside Dubois' Mercedes.

We both got out of our cars and joined Jean in the weighing room before we were led up to the waiting room outside the podium stage.

Diddy and I tipped our hats as we faced Jean after we walked in.

"You've got quite good talent for a rookie, Jean," I said, "I love that in newcomers!"

"You two really are a fantastic duo, aren't you?" the Frenchman replied, "I enjoyed watching your epic 2012 dominance while I was in the pre-Professional Cup stage of my career."

"I love that in supporters!" commented Diddy, "We've got billions of fans around the world, especially after 2012."

"I've heard of your great reputation," continued Jean, "I thought I was sure to win, but I guess I haven't quite learned all of your tactics."

"That's because the one I used today is one I hardly ever use," answered Diddy, "It's a rare occurrence for me to trick our fellow competitors like the way I did today."

"You are quite the best teammate I could ever have in my life, Diddy," I said to the little monkey as we palmed each other with our fists, "I think we might have another great year ahead of us."

Diddy came up to my ear at that moment and whispered to me, "I think we might have another dominant season ahead of us, my friend!"

I simply nodded my head, hoping that Jean didn't catch that. We wouldn't want to give away our predictions to others because who knows if they're true or not. You can't always be correct.

Moments later, just as our senior member of the N/T team joined us, the door to the stage opened, indicating that we were ready.

I was the first one out, and I raised my fists in victory happiness as I took the center stage on top. Diddy followed me out and waved to everyone.

However, when Jean came out the door and appeared, everyone went absolutely nuts for their local hero/rookie. This is his home nation, so he wanted to enjoy today as much as he could. He waved to his home crowd before taking the third step on the podium.

Then, as the crowds continued cheering and blowing their horns, the "Star-Spangled Banner" played for me because of my win.

As I took off my cap to pay respect for my country during the national anthem of America, I couldn't help but just gaze at the French crowd that were giving Jean so much praise and attention for his maiden podium finish. They continued to do so when they played the Japanese national anthem for my team as well.

As soon as the national anthems were finished and I got my winner's trophy, I was sure I wouldn't be the one who really should get everyone's attention, but I still raised it up in celebration, and some of the enthusiasts gave me some cheers.

The same story was for Diddy as well when he got his second place trophy. He would continue to lead the championship for now. Since the PACIFIC GATEWAY round two weeks ago, he was still the only driver to have finished in the top five in every race so far this year.

The real moment came when Jean accepted his bronze third place trophy. Everyone went crazy and began cheering his name …

"JEAN! JEAN! JEAN! JEAN! JEAN!"

It seemed endless until it was time for the … CHAMPAGNE!

All three of us grabbed our bottles and began spraying each other and the crowds before we each took a big gulp of champagne.

There was another first for 2014 alone today as well: No SEGA characters on the podium today. Diddy Kong was the only video game character to appear on the podium today while Jean Dubois becomes the sixth different driver to finish on the podium this season, joining Diddy, Shadow, Sonic, myself and Tails.

After our wonderful celebration, Diddy and I left the stage while Jean continued to salute his home crowd a little bit longer. The crowds continued to chant his name in unison as he waved to his local supporters.

Eventually, he tired himself out and joined us on our way down to the press conference room.

Soon, the press was ready to interview us.

"(DiddyKF1)," the reporter began, "We're going to start with you. You have grabbed your forty-ninth win here today, and you're now just one win away from joining the fifty win club. You must be ecstatic after this win today."

I pulled my microphone up and began my reply:

"I am very ecstatic! I don't when was the last time I took back-to-back wins, but I'm sure glad to have achieved that again. This forty-ninth win really means so much to me. All I can say from here is that it means a new challenge to me: The challenge towards that fiftieth win! I must give a thousand thanks to our pit crews and those at Nissan/Toyota Racing who gave us good cars this weekend. Also, I must tip my hat to Jean Dubois. He had a great weekend here in his home country. He really deserved a podium finish. I'm sure he could've deserved better, but we at Nissan have always been famous for our late race tactics from time to time, and today was no exception. That trick by Diddy there near the end was really what made our whole day easier, so I must thank him dearly!"

Diddy laughed faintly and pressed his hand against my shoulder to say, "You're welcome!"

"Uh, the pit stops today were just great. That first round looked very promising with all four of us jumping the Mercedes, but it sadly didn't last very long. Jean really had the stuff today, so he seemed to be hard to beat until Diddy saved our day. Overall, I'm very happy with this win and I'll be looking to eventually make it fifty at Tsukuba two weeks from now. I'd say: Great day!"

"Well done," said the reporter before turning to Diddy, "Diddy Kong, you've made it five podiums out of five races in 2014 and you still lead the championship, now by 365 points. You seem to be on a roll so far this year."

"Indeed!" agreed Diddy with a smile, to which everyone laughed, "I think we at Nissan have a very good year ahead of us. We've got four wins out of five rounds so far, and I'm sure we'll continue to build up on that from here on out for a while from time to time."

"How did you pull off that maneuver on Jean towards the end?" asked the reporter.

"Well," Diddy began, "It's one that I rarely use. I just simply pulled up to his right side and faked a move to the right going over the overpass. Then, I let off the gas so he could get back ahead so that I could swerve to his left as quickly as I could and pulled up alongside him on the outside of the corner where just about nobody can ever overtake due to how challenging it is as a whole. He seemed to think that he was still blocking me when I sneaked past him and took the spot away while he was left in a confused state. I'm sure he might have been mystified when he realized that I was ahead of him. I'll bet it was a big surprise! I'm just so good at pulling pranks on people, even in actual competition!"

The monkey simply let out bubbly giggles at his own comment.

"As soon as (DiddyKF1) and I went side-by-side into the first turn on the last lap, I just held on and kept us side-by-side for quite a while, even though it wasn't really suitable on this circuit because of how narrow some corners are, but we pulled it off until we approached the chicane. Then, he just got his speed and got ahead of me for good. I really never mind losing to (DiddyKF1). We've been good buddies for years now, so great day today!"

"Well done to both of you," said the reporter to me and Diddy.

"Thank you," we said in unison.

The press turned to Jean.

"Jean Dubois, you really are the man of the day today. Your first pole position, first fastest lap, lead the most laps, and your first podium. What does this personally mean to you?"

"I feel just as ecstatic as I was two days ago when I took the pole," answered Jean, "I have really had what could be the race of my life … for now, that is. This is obviously the best I've ever run so far and I'll remember this one for quite a while. I was sure for some time that I might possibly win this race, but I, … uh, … unfortunately found myself facing Nissan's famous late-race tactics, just like many others have been victims of, but I must pay some respect for those guys. You know, I grew up loving the Donkey Kong Country SNES series and I kind of liked Diddy's back story. (DiddyKF1) has always been good, too. They're both such great drivers. They always know how to drive these circuits with much precision and today was no exception, particularly Diddy. I'm so graceful to score my first podium in front of my own home fans. I've run many laps here in past years before I entered the Professional Cup Series this year, so it seemed very likely, right from the start that I would have an eventful weekend, and I have, and I'm proud of it. I even hope to continue this progress into Tsukuba Circuit on the 27th."

"Great drive, Jean," commented the reporter before turning back to me.

"(DiddyKF1), are you sure that fiftieth win will come soon, … like within the next few rounds or so?"

"Well, we'll have to wait and see what lies ahead of us," I answered, "I mean, we've got Tsukuba, Burgenschlucht, Löwenseering and Marco Strada ahead of us during the spring months, and I tend to not be the best at some of those courses, but I'm sure that fiftieth win will come at some point later this year. There may not be any immediate guarantees, but I'm sure it will happen."

"We'll all be there when it does happen," commented the reporter.

"Thanks a lot!" I replied with a slight giggle and a blushing grin.

"Congratulations to all three of you and we'll be seeing you in Japan in two weeks time," said the reporter as he disconnected his microphone.

"Thank you," we all said before disconnecting our microphones and leaving the room.

Inside, I felt so jazzed about winning two races in a row, something I hadn't done since the end of the 2012 season. I felt especially jazzed about taking career victory #49! The next win would make my name even more special to Enthusia history than it already was.

After five races, the points looked like this:

1. Diddy Kong – 2,590 points

2. myself – 2,225 points

3. Shadow the Hedgehog – 2,065 points

4. Sonic the Hedgehog – 2,015 points

5. Miles "Tails" Prower – 1,765 points

6. Knuckles the Echidna – 1,355 points

7. Jean Dubois – 1,160 points

8. Al Reder, Jr. – 1,060 points

9. Greg Richards – 850 points

10. Bob Stu, Jr. – 750 points

11. Pedro Fernandes – 600 points

* * *

Well, au revoir pour le moment (French for 'Goodbye for now'), and we'll be returning to action on April 27, as we will be on a real-life circuit for the first time this season. It will be the Tsukuba Circuit in Japan.

Until then, Happy Easter!


	7. Race 6: Tsukuba 250

ROUND 6

TSUKUBA 250 – TSUKUBA CIRCUIT – Shimotsuma, Ibaraki, Japan

April 27, 2014

* * *

Well, well, we were now heading for a real-life-existing circuit for the first time this year. The Tsukuba Circuit in Japan has been one of Enthusia's most popular stops since it first starting running races there in 1979. This is one of only two tracks in the league that exist in real life, the other being the Nürburgring in Germany. Therefore, only three times a year we make stops at real life circuits.

The Tsukuba Circuit is a 1.27-mile racing facility with eight corners. It is often used for testing sessions and motorcycle events. Enthusia's 200-lap marathon would mean 254 miles of racing at Tsukuba.

Going into this weekend, I was getting so much attention from the media due to the fact that this race at Tsukuba would mark my first attempt at career win #50. Everyone in the media constantly questioned me if I could pull off my fiftieth win this Sunday. It eventually got annoying enough for my three teammates (Diddy, Sonic and Tails) to to intervene from time to time so that I didn't have to me asked the same question over and over again! Man, the media can be difficult at times!

On Thursday practice, it seemed that the team was going to have some good fortunes on our side this weekend, as Tails posted the fastest time in practice with me taking the second fastest time, followed by Diddy and Sonic in third and fourth, respectively.

In qualifying on Friday, Diddy and I were looking set for another Nissan front row lockup on the grid before Tails came out and claimed the fastest time and knocked me out of the front row. Sonic, however, could only manage fourth, but it still meant that we had once again locked up both of the first two rows of the grid.

It was the third career pole for Tails, and his first for our team.

When the sun rose on Sunday morning, I walked out into the open area in front of our hotel at about 7:50 AM to sink in the relaxation of the fresh morning air. It felt wonderful! Temperatures were rising into the low 70s, and there were small linear strikes of blue in the skies hidden behind the many clouds that were up there. The forecast said mostly cloudy skies throughout the day but no chance of rain.

As soon as we had left the hotel and were preparing ourselves in the paddock behind the pit area at the Tsukuba Circuit facility, I had already drank about five glasses of Gatorade to build myself up for the race. I spent a few minutes in the garage, wondering how the pit crews were doing in getting our cars ready.

"Morning," said my race engineer as we noticed each other in the garage shortly after I walked in.

"Hey," I replied, "Nice weather we're having today, huh? It feels like a great day for racing."

"Everything about a mostly cloudy day in the temperature range of the low 70s feels like a day when racing is all you wanna do," commented my engineer.

"Everything's set up, sir," said an aerodynamic specialist walking up to us.

"Right then, we'll be ready to start this thing in about two hours, so be ready as soon as possible," said the engineer.

"Sure thing," I said before stepping back into the open paddock area and towards the team's paddock.

As I opened the door and walked in, all three of my teammates were already up and drinking some Gatorade as well. Sonic and Diddy seemed to be having quite a chat …

"I find it strange," said Sonic with a half-grin and a look of suspicion, "A lot of the times, Diddy, when I see you at the Smash Mansion, you're someone who is willing to have lots of fun, and, may I say, you also seem to have a neck for getting into trouble, yet whenever we're at a racetrack and actually doing pure competition, you seem like a seriously determined monkey who prefers no nonsense in the presence of these other people."

Diddy simply lowered one of his eyebrows in confusion, "Yeah, so … I don't mind having such a difference like that depending on where we are."

"Well, still I wonder, does it just depend on whomever is around you in particular or do you have a serious side of you that means no nonsense in certain public places, unlike many of your relatives and your friends in the Smash Mansion? I am very curious," said Sonic.

Diddy simply looked away from the blue hedgehog for a moment before turning back to him. He even looked at Tails for a moment. Before Diddy could answer, they all noticed me walk in.

"I'd say it's just the way certain monkeys are," I commented in my attempt to back up Diddy.

Sonic simply giggled at my comment, "Well, I'm sure that explains it all, given that Tails once read a few things about monkeys and showed them to me."

"True," said Tails, sitting next to his adopting big brother, "I've known monkeys to be occasional troublemakers whenever they're full of energy, but I guess it's just something about you, Diddy, that gives us suspicions from time to time that you have two opposite personalities. You tend to show one depending on where you are. Am I right?"

"Well," Diddy began, "You could put it that way, but I like having fun, while at the same time I love competition and I like being well-respected by those in this sport. I've even been a prankster in the garage every now and then, but not every day."

"I see," said Sonic.

"Anyways," said Tails, "(DiddyKF1), I heard you've been dealing with a great deal of work in your American home lately."

"Yeah, it's been very busy lately, this and that, this and that, etc., but I've been handling it pretty well," I said.

"You're still listening to Pendulum's 'Watercolour' every day still, I reckon?" asked Sonic. Even he knew about the obsession with drum and bass that Diddy and I had.

"At least once almost every day, but I've been listening to other things, and I'm working on a few of my own projects," I answered.

"Really?" said Tails, "I'd like to hear them one of these days if you ever plan to upload them."

"Perhaps I will," I replied.

"Have you done any drum and bass projects?" asked Diddy.

"As a matter of fact, I have," I replied, "I've done one that's a mixture of drum and bass, and metal-core rock. It's kind of like what they call electronic rock, similar to what Pendulum did."

"Sounds nice. Let us know when you've uploaded them, instrumental or vocalized," said Sonic.

"I will," I promised them before turning to the two SEGA heroes, "So have things been quiet in Mobius lately?

"Yeah, pretty much," answered Sonic, "Eggman seems to have been so invisible lately."

"It's been very quiet," added Tails, "It seems that racing in the Enthusia Professional Cup has been the only thing that has been keeping us up and about lately."

"Well, weren't you just in the Sochi Olympics two months ago?" asked Diddy.

"Yeah, but neither one of us got first place overall," said Tails.

"Mario took the top spot for the first time," said Sonic, who then turned to me, "Speaking of which, everyone seemed surprised when you decided not to return as Bowser, Jr.'s coach in the solo events, like you did in Vancouver and London. Now I know it's not because he's not on this Nissan/Toyota team anymore, but I must wonder, don't you ever keep in touch with him anymore? Do you ever look back at your 2009 season when you and Junior had a perfect year similar to 2012 when you and Diddy were perfect?"

"Of course I do," I replied, "I vividly remember that 2009 finale."

Many could remember the end of the 2009 season when Junior broke Nintendo's Enthusia curse, although he had to beat me, a trusted teammate, to win it! Even though he was a villain, I was okay with it. Maybe it was just because of his young age.

Believe it or not, Junior was my number two favorite video game character behind Diddy Kong for a while before I started gaining interest in SEGA, rather than exclusively be interested in Nintendo all the time.

The four of us enjoyed our pleasant chat until it was over about half an hour later and we had to go to the pre-race driver's meeting.

After all of the pleasant chats and the pre-race ceremonies, we were ready to take to the track.

This was the starting lineup for the race:

ROW 1

1. Miles "Tails" Prower – TOYOTA EXXON Superflo Supra; 2. Diddy Kong – XANAVI NISMO GT-R

ROW 2

3. myself – NISSAN R390 GT1; 4. Sonic the Hedgehog – TOYOTA GT-one

ROW 3

5. Shadow the Hedgehog – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2004; 6. Knuckles the Echidna – McLaren F1 GTR

ROW 4

7. Al Reder, Jr. – MAZDA 787B; 8. Greg Richards – AUDI R8 TEAM GOH 2003

ROW 5

9. Jean Dubois – Mercedes-Benz CLK-DTM; 10. Bob Stu, Jr. – HONDA G'ZOX NSX

ROW 6

11. Pedro Fernandes – OPEL Astra V8 Coupe 24h

At 1:00 pm JST, the race was "GO!"

Tails took off brilliantly from the pole and kept his lead going into turn one. Unlike last year, all eleven cars made it out of turn one safely. Shadow got an incredibly quick start and was in second place within only a few turns despite starting fifth.

Tails took off and led the first three laps before Shadow made a move for the lead in turn two on lap four. In the process, he almost ran the two-tailed fox off the circuit, but Tails kept enough control to keep his car on the pavement and they both made it out okay.

Shadow led the next three laps until Tails took the lead back on lap seven in turn one.

From there, the young fox refused to look back while I came up behind the black hedgehog's dark silver Audi and made a run for second place with help from Diddy behind me. Sonic was also close back and did not hesitate to assist us.

While Diddy and I were able to get by the Audi, Sonic found himself being blocked by his rival. This enabled Knuckles the Echidna to challenge him for fifth place with assistance from a rookie teammate.

While Sonic held off Knuckles and Reder; Diddy, Shadow and I began to close in on Tails.

However, a few laps later, Sonic forced his way past Shadow and was soon right behind us. The reigning Cup Series champion later passed Diddy for third and was now all over my rear view mirror.

It wasn't long before Sonic's red Toyota blew past and caught up behind his little brother, Tails.

The superstar hedgehog was still flying like a rocket even after that, as he near-hesitantly passed Tails for the lead on lap 19.

Sonic and Tails, now running 1-2 in their Toyotas, began to take off while I fended off Diddy and Shadow in a battle for third place.

It remained like this for quite a while, until the first round of pit stops near lap 80.

I pitted on lap 78 for a fuel tank fill-up and tire change. I came back out in fourth place. Shadow had beaten me out while Diddy lost fifth place to Knuckles. Tails also regained the lead from Sonic. It looked like SEGA was gaining a big advantage now!

For nearly fifteen laps, I endured the sight of the dark Audi of Shadow holding me up, and his teammate, Knuckles in his white and purple BMW-powered McLaren trying to get by. It really was a big challenge the Audi/BMW Racing team was putting on me at this stage.

However, on lap 97, the challenge seemed to disappear …

I looked in my mirror as Knuckles suddenly broke sideways coming out of turn four (the second hairpin) and swerved into the left side wall!

"Safety car is coming out," my engineer told me moments later. That confirmed to me that Knuckles was out of the race with a totaled German-engineered British car.

Sure enough, during the next lap while we slowed down behind the Honda safety car, as we exited turn four, I looked to the left and there was the sight of the purple rear end of the McLaren as its FINA-sponsored colors were no more for today. Knuckles had previously won this race twice in the last three years in the Mercedes, but today would not be the day in which he would win this race for a third time.

When the green flag waved on lap 100, it was still Tails leading in front of Sonic. I was immediately keen on passing Shadow for third place and did so going into turn one. Diddy was now fifth, but Al Reder, Jr. was right behind him and was probably willing to stir up trouble again.

Diddy quickly followed me past Shadow and left Reder dueling the rookie Audi driver for fifth place.

With Diddy providing me with drafting help, I caught the rear bumper of Sonic's Toyota and made a move for second place in turn four during the 109th lap, successfully.

On lap 117, I dived into the inside of turn one and went for the lead. Tails made no attempt to hold me back and I finally took the lead for the first time in the race. By the end of that lap, it was the first time a Nissan had led today.

Now leading, I felt like I was one step closer to my fiftieth win that everyone had been talking about this weekend.

I would go on to lead for quite a while until Tails sneaked past me on lap 153 just before the second and last round of pit stops.

I followed Tails into the pits on lap 158. Sonic and Diddy were right behind us at that moment.

All four of us had fantastic pit stops, but Diddy's crew was the fastest and he took the lead for the first time afterward.

Diddy's time up front was very brief, though. He only led for three laps before Tails took it back.

Less than ten laps later, we were told that the safety car was coming back out. They had noticed a small puddle of oil on the main straight near the pits. During that lap just before the caution, we caught a glimpse of a smoking car. It turned out to be the Mercedes of Jean Dubois, the same car with which Knuckles had previously won this race twice. Dubois had blown his engine and his chances of a third consecutive top five finish were dead in a cloud of smoke. He had been running in seventh place until that happened.

The safety car was out for six laps while the oil was cleared from the main straight.

The green flag came back out with twenty-five laps to go. Tails and Diddy had great restarts while I lost third to Sonic. Shadow and Reder stayed right behind us through the next seven laps.

On lap 182, Greg Richards made a sudden mistake and smacked the wall in turns two and three, bringing out the safety car again.

After Richards' Audi was cleared away and the safety car dived back into the pits, there were now fifteen laps to go.

Tails still led while Sonic attempted to pass Diddy for second, unsuccessfully.

I eventually regained third from the red Toyota before the end of that lap, but soon came trouble again …

Two laps later, Reder tapped the right rear of Shadow's car in turn seven and spun the Audi into the path of Pedro Fernandes' Opel Astra. Reder continued but Shadow and Fernandes were left stranded in turn seven with no power in their cars.

This would bring out the safety car … YET AGAIN!

"THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!" I yelled to my engineer on the radio, "THIS IS NONSENSE! ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!"

"I'd agree with you," replied my engineer, "But what can we do about it? We can't just rely on everyone trying to drive clean 100% of the time because nobody's perfect."

All I did then was sigh. The point that I really wanted to make was that the number of cautions we had in the last twenty laps alone was so nonsensical given how many cars we have on track. We simply wanted to get this thing over with, but now we had three more slow laps while Shadow's Audi and Fernandes' Opel were cleared from turn seven.

The bad news was that it looked like Reder was going to escape this one without penalty. He had gotten away with cheating … AGAIN!

Thanks to Reder's dirty work, no more German cars remained in this one. The Japanese had their own circuit all to themselves while the Germans had to 'literally' go home. Germany is where the next race is; that's why I meant 'literally'.

With eleven laps to go, the race was green once more.

Tails was once again quick on the restart and we all kept our positions for the next few laps before Sonic made another run on Diddy for second, and this time he successfully took the dark red Nissan as I was quick to draft behind the little monkey.

Reder, however, seemed to have been slowed down by the accident he caused, as he was not running as fast as he normally would have been. He was now dueling his teammate, Bob Stu, Jr. for fifth place.

As the laps winded down, the Honda/Mazda Racing team cars only fell further behind, and we were getting set for our first 1-2-3-4 win of the season!

As the last lap began, Tails still had the lead, with Sonic in second, Diddy in third, and me in fourth.

This may not be the day of my fiftieth win, but I don't mind missing out on the podium to three teammates.

All four of us were within less than two and a half seconds of each other as we sped down the back stretch for the last time.

Just one more corner, and we had it made: a 1-2-3-4 team victory!

MILES "TAILS" PROWER WINS AT TSUKUBA! SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IS SECOND, DIDDY KONG IS THIRD, AND IN FOUTH IS (DiddyKF1)! IT'S A 1-2-3-4 WIN FOR NISSAN/TOYOTA RACING! FIRST, SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH! WHAT A FANTASTIC WEEKEND IT'S BEEN FOR THE ALWAYS-SO-DOMINANT JAPANESE TEAM! ALL OF THE FANS ARE GOING ABSOLUTELY CCCRRRAAAZZZYYY!

Tails had finally won his first race for our team! It's his overall third career victory, having won two races last year in the McLaren, and Sonic makes it a 'SonicxTails 1-2 Win'! With Diddy in third, he keeps his podium perfection for 2014 alive going into the month of May! My fourth place finish gives the team the best race result possible! A 1-2-3-4 win! A perfect result!

While I parked my car into the garage, my teammates all headed for parc ferme to enter the podium ceremonies.

As I quickly got out of my car and rushed out to the parc ferme area to congratulate my teammates, I ran up just in time to watch Sonic and Tails, still with their helmets on, hugging each other like brothers. Given that they finished first and second, I thought there would be nothing better than a brotherly hug between those two!

Diddy also stepped up to our two SEGA teammates and gave them each a high-five. Then, they all walked into the weighing room. Diddy gestured for me to follow them in.

Now for something that has been a tradition exclusively at Nissan/Toyota Racing since September 2010 …

Whenever we score a 1-2-3-4 win, the fourth place finisher IS allowed on the podium stage with his three teammates so that everyone can get a piece of the happy celebrations! In this case, with Tails, Sonic and Diddy in the top three, I would once again join them in the waiting room outside the stage, but as soon as my teammates were called out, I would come out with our senior team member and stand beside him as an extra representative to bring in more flavor to a team celebration.

As we all stepped out in front of the crowd, my teammates took the three steps and I stood next to our senior team member.

As Tails pumped his fists in celebration, I came to notice several tears leaking from his eyes. I could tell they could only be tears of happiness, like a dream becoming reality. Just winning a race for Nissan/Toyota Racing can be among the greatest things one can ever accomplish.

As Tails was trying to hold back his happy tears, Sonic had immediately placed a hand around his buddy's back to keep him calm just as the Japanese national anthem started playing for Tails (SEGA) and for Nissan/Toyota Racing (JAPAN).

Soon after, my three teammates were given their top three race finish trophies and our senior team member was given the team's trophy, another Enthusia executive gave me an extra champagne bottle, just as the three youngsters on the stage picked up theirs.

Within a few seconds, all four of us were spraying champagne all over each other and at the crowds below us! This is the kind of celebration in which the team can feel so complete when they take a 1-2-3-4 win. There is virtually nothing as good as this!

Our senior team member, along with myself, stepped up on the three stage steps along with my top three finishing teammates and waved to the crowds again before they picked up their trophies and we left the stage.

While my teammates headed for the press conference room for the podium interviews, I rushed downstairs and made my way past the crowds and into the open paddock area.

The German teams had already packed up and were just about ready to leave, but media interviews kept them stuck here for at least a while longer.

It wasn't long before I met face-to-face with several members of the press and a cameraman. This could only mean the television guys wanting to hear what I had to say about our 1-2-3-4 finish.

"Well, (DiddyKF1), your team have been practically unbeatable throughout the weekend and it ultimately showed at the end of this race. I'd imagine you're absolutely thrilled about the great finish," said the reporter as he held his microphone in my face.

"There is no doubt that I'm really ecstatic about this result," I began, "I feel very proud for everyone on this Nissan/Toyota team. I obviously must tip my hat to Tails Prower. He truly deserved that win today, and without Sonic finishing second, I assume it wouldn't have happened."

"Tell us about those last few laps when it came down to all four of you racing for everything there was."

"Well, like we said, we are a team that don't believe in manipulation. We always race with everything we have and when it comes to that last lap, we're just about racing like there's no tomorrow. Whoever's in the lead would still have to defend himself from three hungry teammates, though I'm not sure if Sonic may have wanted to pass Tails. I would agree with him, and I'm sure Diddy would too, but we do these things without the use of team orders. We never favor one driver over the others. It's always favoring four drivers! They don't call us the 'Fantastic Four of Enthusia' for nothing."

"So basically during that last lap you had agreed amongst yourselves to just take it easy and settle it down to the finish?" asked the reporter.

"That's generally what it was, yes," I answered, "But we were technically still racing for first place and that was proven when Sonic actually made one last shot at Tails during the last lap, only to fail. That was when we decided to stay in line and not take any more risks."

"Well, it's always been wondrous watching you guys take 1-2-3-4 finishes, and for Tails Prower to be a part of it for the first time today was really something as far as you're concerned. Add to that, all four of you have now won at least one race each in 2014, and you're all in the top four of the championship standings after six rounds. How will you guys take it from here?"

"We're not gonna stop here! We're gonna keep our pace at a high rate until the season is over so that we can give the team yet another great season! That's what I would call."

"Well, after all, you are the team captain, so we would be delighted to hear that call from you," commented the reporter, "Thanks, (DiddyKF1), for your time and we'll see you in Germany."

"Thank you," I replied before walking back into the team's paddock.

As I stepped inside and began to take my light blue suit off, I took a gaze at the television set and found that it was replaying Tails' interview in the podium press conference. I picked up the remote from the counter and turned up the volume so that I could hear what the young fox had to say about his first Nissan/Toyota team win …

" … it feel to win a race with the biggest team in all of Enthusia?" I heard the reporter say as I was turning up the volume on the TV.

"It feels like such an honor to win a race with this team!" said Tails happily, "I had seen Sonic do so well with these guys in the last three years before I joined them this year, and I couldn't feel any happier than I am right now to have won with this great team with Sonic as a teammate. I feel especially happy that he just so happened to finish in second, right behind me! I don't think it could have gone any better than this! Once Diddy and (DiddyKF1) had crossed the line in third and fourth, it felt so perfect! I wanna thank everyone at Nissan/Toyota Racing for giving me the opportunity to race with them this year. I wanna thank Sonic for hanging in there with me!"

I giggled at that comment as I watched the footage of Sonic giggling alongside his adopted little brother. I almost felt my cheeks blush as I felt so happy for that young two-tailed wonder!

"This is something I'll remember for a long time!" continued Tails, "The pit stops were great. In fact, all of us had great pit stops, don't get me wrong. Even Diddy got a chance to lead at one point because of a great pit stop. Just about everyone on the team felt so motivated to get something done this week, and we got it done, no doubt about it. When I first joined their lineup at the beginning of this season, I could tell what needed to be improved and what could be kept as it was. It seems that the advice I gave them is beginning to pay off. We've been making improvements to things that need improvements, and now we might be even more than the greatest team in the sport! I wanna give credit to everyone on this team for that great finish. Sonic, Diddy, (DiddyKF1), our crews, our team principal, and all of our loyal fans that love to see us run! This has been quite a weekend for us, and I've really enjoyed it!"

"Many congratulations on your first Nissan/Toyota team win, Tails Prower, and we hope to see you continue that progress in Germany in a few weeks time."

"Thank you," responded Tails.

I turned down the volume on the TV after the footage began to focus on Sonic.

Roughly a moment later, I heard the door open and I looked to see who was coming in. It just so happened to be Tails, Sonic and Diddy with their trophies!

"Hey, (DiddyKF1)!" said Tails, "How nice to see you in here!"

"How nice to see all of you as well," I replied.

I watched my teammates put their trophies in their bags and we all sat down on the same cushioned seats we had sat on this morning.

I stretched my arm out over to Tails to give him a handshake.

"Congrats on that win, buddy," I said to the gold-and-white-furred fox.

"Thanks," he replied, shaking my hand, "This has been some weekend. Right from the first minute of practice, it seemed like it was ours to begin with."

"I agree," said Sonic.

"Perfect from the start!" added Diddy.

"First, second, third and fourth!" I said, "That's something that always makes me happy regardless of the finishing order. It's just a happy thing."

"You couldn't have said it any better," said Tails, "I must say that I feel so honored to have won a race with you guys!"

Sonic scooted closer to Tails and put an arm around his friend's back, saying, "You deserved it, buddy. There's nothing like a 1-2 finish between best buddies. Of course, it can't go without giving credit to the both of you."

He pointed to me and Diddy.

"Hey, you know we are the best team in the sport," said Diddy, "There's nothing like sweeping the top four slots as a four-car team! There is practically nothing better. Add to that, we're all in the top four championship points positions now, so it feels like an even better advantage! We're getting the edge!"

"You said it, buddy!" I replied to the red-capped monkey.

So after that absolutely wonderful result for round six, the championship standings were as followed:

1. Diddy Kong – 3,045 points

2. myself – 2,630 points

3. Sonic the Hedgehog – 2,520 points

4. Miles "Tails" Prower – 2,325 points

5. Shadow the Hedgehog – 2,320 points

6. Al Reder, Jr. – 1,410 points

7. Knuckles the Echidna – 1,405 points

8. Jean Dubois – 1,260 points

9. Bob Stu, Jr. – 1,050 points

10. Greg Richards – 1,000 points

11. Pedro Fernandes – 800 points

* * *

Coming up on May 11, the points season will take a short break as we head towards the ever-so-popular 'All-Star Race' in Germany!


End file.
